EMILYs List Endorses January Contreras for Arizona Attorney General

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2018

EMILYs List Endorses January Contreras for Arizona Attorney General

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed January Contreras for Arizona attorney general. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“There’s a reason why January Contreras has earned a reputation for being a tough and fair law enforcement leader in Arizona. She is an experienced county and state prosecutor who has spent her career protecting Arizonans and making sure that rule breakers are held accountable. As a deputy county attorney for Maricopa County, January worked to clean up the streets by prosecuting criminals and putting public safety first. And as an assistant attorney general for the Arizona Office of the Attorney General, she went after fraudsters who tried to exploit seniors and small businesses. Afterward, January co-founded a nonprofit that provides free legal services for  women and children who have survived abuse and trauma, and led efforts to stop violence against women as a leader at the Department of Homeland Security.”

“January is dedicated to making Arizona a safer place – and EMILYs List is proud to highlight her record as the organization’s first endorsement for state attorney general this cycle and as the first Latina to run for Arizona attorney general.”

January Contreras has been standing up for vulnerable communities her entire career. As an assistant attorney general, she fought for accountability, prosecuting white-collar criminals, and abusers. She spearheaded the establishment of the Council on Combating Violence Against Women at the Department of Homeland Security and served on the White House Council on Women and Girls under President Obama. January continued her fight for children and women back home in Arizona by co-founding Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS), an organization that provides free legal services to some of the most vulnerable populations in Arizona. In addition to advocating for young adults and children who have suffered abuse, neglect, and homelessness, ALWAYS works to combat human trafficking and violence against women.

Contreras is EMILYs List’s first attorney general endorsement this cycle. Last year, EMILYs List placed Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich “On Notice” for his long record of pushing an extreme anti-woman agenda in Arizona. With more than 30,000 women reaching out to EMILYs List interested in running for office since the 2016 election, the organization has tripled the size of its state and local campaign staff in order to provide candidates like January with the resources they need to run and win.

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.