EMILYs List Statement on New York’s First Female Governor

For Immediate Release

August 10, 2021

EMILYs List Statement on New York’s First Female Governor

Today, Emily Cain, executive director of EMILYs List, issued the following statement marking the news that New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will become the first woman governor of New York:

“From the Seneca Falls Convention to the groundbreaking women leaders in the state today, the representation of women, our voices, and our priorities in elected office across the country are deeply rooted in New York. In spite of that, their governorship has been exclusively male. Women leaders across the country are using the powers of executive office to improve lives, and now New York will finally join their ranks. EMILY's List recognizes the history being made in this moment as longtime state leader  Kathy Hochul is poised to become the first woman governor of New York, bringing with her years of experience at every level of government. She will, as Vice President Harris memorably said about her own election, be the first woman in this office, but not the last. She will be joined by a new acting lieutenant governor, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a woman who has already made history by being the first woman to lead a New York legislative chamber.

“While we are always grateful to see history being made, we also want to recognize the bravery of the women who were willing to speak out for what was right, no matter how powerful the forces in opposition, and the diligence of the team that led this investigation.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice 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 and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 158 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women 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. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.