60,000 Women and Counting

For Immediate Release
October 21, 2020

60,000 Women and Counting
Thousands more pro-choice Democratic women are inspired to hit the campaign trail this November and make history. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, EMILYs List announced that more than 60,000 women have contacted the organization about running for office since Election Day 2016. Additionally, EMILY's List's Run to Win Facebook community has grown to 10,000 women candidates and their supporters. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, released the following statement:

“After historic wins in 2018, including winning back the majority in the House with pro-choice Democratic women, momentum is building for Democrats this year with even more women running for office. Women have marched, made phone calls, knocked doors, and this November, they are running for office in record numbers and using their voices to change the halls of power. 

The Trump administration, with the help of the Republican Party, has targeted women and attacked their rights since President Trump’s first day in office. But women are fired up and fighting back, and running for office. From the failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to attacks on access to health care, to efforts to roll back reproductive, civil and voting rights— women are standing up for their communities and stepping up to make a difference.”

To respond to the unprecedented influx of women inspired to run for office, EMILYs List created its Run to Win campaign — an organization-wide effort to recruit, train, and support women running for office across the country. The Run to Win program combines the insights and growth of several EMILYs List teams to expand recruitment efforts on the ground, and since 2016 has trained more than 10,300 women through 70 in-person Run to Win trainings and webinars in 25 states. 

EMILYs List has also cultivated a strong online community of 10,000 women candidates and their supporters through Facebook. The thriving network allows former, current, and future pro-choice Democratic women candidates running for every level of office to share stories from the trail and build invaluable mentorships to run successful campaigns.

Schriock added, “One of the most important things that EMILYs List can do is build a network of women who know that running for office is not only possible, but vital, to the growth of our Democratic institutions. Every day — and I mean every single day — women across our nation are signing up to run because they now have so many more examples of women to aspire to who are representing them in Congress, in their state capitals, and in their city councils. Women empowering women to run, win, and lead is the new normal, and you better believe these women candidates want to join our elected women to ignite lasting change.”  

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, 60,000 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.