EMILY’s List Presents “W.H.Y. (Women’s Historic Year) 2012”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – EMILY's List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics announces W.H.Y. 2012, an historic year for Democratic women in politics.

"This year we have the chance to fundamentally change how Washington works," said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY's List. "Coming off the special election victory of Suzanne Bonamici in Oregon, Democratic women have tremendous momentum going into this election cycle. In 2012 we have an unprecedented 11 women running for the Senate; women -- like Suzanne -- are winning special elections; and the EMILY's List community has never been more energized. We have exceeded one million members and we're not done yet.

"Washington isn't working for women and families, but we can change that by electing Democratic women who stand up to the right, get things done, and build a more progressive America."

Today, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock laid out the milestones for EMILY's List in 2012: endorsing an unprecedented 11 women for the Senate; revealing they've surpassed one million members of EMILY's List; offering an in-depth look at the ever-growing field of House races; and revealing the results of an exclusive poll of independent women voters on election night in the Oregon-1 special election.

EMILY's List is supporting an unprecedented number of Senate candidates: six incumbents and five challengers. Every single one of our challengers would be the first women to represent their states in the Senate. Mazie Hirono would be the first Asian American woman Senator and only the 2nd woman of color ever to serve in the Senate. Other firsts include Tammy Duckworth, who would be the only woman in office with combat experience.

A poll conducted by EMILY's List on election day determined women voters in Oregon helped give Suzanne Bonamici the edge in Tuesday's special election. By a margin of 20 points, women chose Bonamici over her opponent Rob Cornilles -- a margin greater than the electorate as a whole. The targeted EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE! programs proved effective and the messaging against Cornilles on the issue of reproductive choice was remembered by a large number of voters. These women used national issues that favor Democrats to choose a candidate, such as the economy, tax fairness and Social Security and Medicare -- giving insight into a critical block of voters going into 2012.

More than one million strong, EMILY's List now includes members in every single state in the country. Team EMILY, the all-volunteer voter mobilization effort, now has members in every single state. In the 12 months since John Boehner and his Tea-Party allies took over the House and started to wage a war on American women and families, EMILY's List has more than doubled its membership from under 400,000 to over one million.

W.H.Y. 2012 will feature a page for users to meet EMILY's List members across the country, and a video showcasing their voices, as well as the voices of 2012's historic women candidates. To explore W.H.Y. 2012 and watch the video go to http://emilyslist.org/why2012

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,000,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List had the largest number of members and donors in our 25 year history.