Todd Akin is the Wrong Choice for Missouri Women and Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, Missouri Republicans nominated Todd Akin, a Tea Party extremist, to run against Claire McCaskill for the United States Senate. 

“Todd Akin’s victory is the result of an unprecedented level of support from outside groups who are launching vicious attacks against Senator McCaskill’s sterling record,” said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List. “But the distinction between Claire’s impressive track record of fighting for working families and Akin’s extreme, Tea Party agenda couldn’t be clearer. And this November, the voters will once again send a leader to the Senate who fights for their rights and opportunities.” 

Todd Akin’s positions would hurt Missouri Families:

• Akin Has Consistently Received 0% Pro-Choice Ratings From Planned Parenthood.

• Akin is an avid supporter of the Paul Ryan Plan which would end Medicare as we know it, and thinks cuts should be even deeper. 

• Todd Akin doesn’t support Social Security, a program that is responsible for keeping millions of seniors out of poverty.  

• Akin is a founding member of the House Tea Party Caucus
• In a debate, Akin didn’t even know the minimum wage (federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr), but still wanted to hurt working families by lowering it further. 

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 1,500,000 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 27 year history.