EMILYs List Congratulates Missy Cotter Smasal on Her Primary Victory in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, congratulates Missy Cotter Smasal on her primary victory in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement: 

“EMILYs List is thrilled to congratulate Missy Cotter Smasal on her primary win in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. The time is now to elect Democratic pro-choice women to the U.S. House to unseat anti-abortion Republicans like Jen Kiggans. Cotter Smasal is passionate about fighting for working families, creating safer communities, and defending abortion access. We are confident in the work that she will do for Virginians and EMILYs List is proud to stand with her in the November election.”

Missy Cotter Smasal is a U.S. Navy veteran, former small business owner, adjunct professor, and the executive director of a nonprofit organization that honors our nation’s servicewomen. She served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy and deployed aboard the U.S.S. Trenton during Operation Enduring Freedom, after which she owned a small business in the restaurant industry in Virginia Beach for a decade. Cotter Smasal also serves as the Virginia citizen representative on the Chesapeake Bay Commission, working to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. She and her husband Bryan, who is also a veteran, have two children together.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.