EMILYs List Endorses Four Secretary of State Candidates, Continues Push at State Level
October 23, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILY's List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics, announced their endorsement of four secretary of state candidates. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:
“With voting rights under attack by Republicans and redistricting looming, working families need tough secretaries of state who will fight to protect their access to the ballot. The leadership of these four women – Kathleen Clyde in Ohio, Nellie Gorbea in Rhode Island, Jena Griswold in Colorado, and Maggie Toulouse Oliver in New Mexico – will be absolutely critical this cycle. Here at EMILY's List, we have set our sights on these down-ballot elections because the battle over representation will be won and lost in the states. We need women in these jobs who will fight for the rights of every single voter. Kathleen, Nellie, Jena, and Maggie are ready to serve, and we stand with them.”
Kathleen Clyde is an attorney who has served in the Ohio House of Representatives since 2011. Prior to serving as a state representative, Kathleen worked as deputy legal counsel to the speaker of the Ohio House and as an election official during the 2008 presidential election in Franklin County.
Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea made history in 2014 when she became the first Latino person to be elected to statewide office in New England. Before being elected secretary of state, Nellie served as Rhode Island’s deputy secretary of state. She also spearheaded the founding of the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund. She is running for re-election.
As a lawyer and voter protection advocate, Jena Griswold worked hard to protect Coloradans’ voting rights as part of President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign. Should she win, Jena would be the first Democratic woman to serve as secretary of state in Colorado.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver grew up in New Mexico and has deep ties to the community she calls home. She served as Bernalillo County clerk until 2016 when she was elected secretary of state. Recently, Toulouse Oliver was named the Elections Committee Co-Chair of the National Association of Secretaries of State. Maggie is running for re-election.
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Since the 2016 election, thousands of women and counting have reached out to us about running for office. To harness this energy, EMILYs List has launched Run to Win, an unprecedented effort to get more women to run at the local, state, and national levels.
