EMILYs List Endorses Janet Mills for Governor of Maine

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2018

EMILYs List Endorses Janet Mills for Governor of Maine

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Janet Mills for governor of Maine. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Janet Mills has shown again and again that she will not back down when it comes to fighting for the people of Maine. Whether it was taking on bad actors after the financial crisis or pursuing pharmaceutical companies that helped fuel the opioid crisis, Janet does what it takes to make sure working families get a fair shake.

“As governor, Janet will continue to be a champion for Maine's families – and after eight years of Republican Governor Paul LePage, her leadership is sorely needed. EMILY's List is proud to endorse her candidacy.”

A lifelong Mainer, Janet currently serves as the state’s attorney general and is a tireless champion for Maine working families. She grew up in a rural community, and began delivering newspapers at the age of six and as a teenager waited tables at a local diner. After graduating from college and earning her law degree at the University of Maine School of Law, Janet began her career as an advocate for Mainers. She prosecuted major crimes as an assistant attorney general, and co-founded the Maine Women’s Lobby to give vulnerable women who had survived domestic violence a powerful voice in the state legislature. When Janet stepped up to run for office for the first time, she made history as the first woman to serve as a district attorney in all of New England. She went on to successfully run for the Maine House of Representatives, and served as a powerful champion for Maine working families. Janet became Maine’s Attorney General in 2008 and is the first woman ever to hold that office. She lives in Farmington, where she and her late husband Stan raised five daughters.

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.