EMILYs List Statement on Hispanic Heritage Month

For Immediate Release
September 15, 2020

EMILYs List Statement on Hispanic Heritage Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, released the following statement:

“This month, we honor the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the political system, social progress, and economic growth of our country. Despite being one of the fastest growing demographics in the United States, Latinas remain vastly underrepresented in elected office nationwide. Only 2o Latinas have ever served in Congress, and 15 of them, a record number, serve in the 116th Congress right now. EMILYs List is proud of our elected Latina officials, who are on the frontlines fighting for their communities.

While the Trump administration has made it a priority to undermine the progress that Hispanic Americans have worked so hard to achieve, all while continuing baseless and racist attacks, Latinas are advancing across all spheres. The historic number of Latinas running for office across the country today is a reminder of how far we have come, but this is only the beginning. This November, we have a tremendous opportunity to elect even more Latinas up and down the ballot and EMILYs List is excited to be recruiting, training, and electing Latinas to city councils, state legislatures, and Congress because we know that the halls of power in our government at every level are more effective when they reflect the stories and voices of the people they represent.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 55,000 women have reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices.