EMILYs List Endorses Jess King in Pennsylvania’s 11th District

For Immediate Release
October 2, 2018

EMILYs List Endorses Jess King in Pennsylvania’s 11th District

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Jess King for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Jess King is a local leader in economic development who is running for Congress to expand economic opportunity for families in the 11th District. As a Mennonite, Jess is deeply committed to voluntary service for the common good and has shaped her career path around serving others. She has led efforts supporting small business owners and local job creators by helping ensure they pay family-sustaining wages and hire those who have faced barriers to employment. Jess’ dedication to her community’s success is sure to guide her work in Congress.

“Jess is running against Republican Congressman Lloyd Smucker, an extremist who has voted in lockstep with the GOP agenda, including for corporate tax cuts and to repeal access to affordable health care. Unlike Smucker, Jess will fight for the people of the district, not a partisan agenda. EMILYs List is proud to be standing with this longtime champion for working families and we look forward to helping her flip this seat from red to blue.”

Jess King was born and raised in Lancaster County, and is a 12th generation Pennsylvanian descended from Amish and Mennonite refugees. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Mennonite University and her MBA from Bard College. After college, she moved to Pittsburgh where she fought for affordable housing and community development. When her husband accepted a position as a Mennonite pastor, Jess returned home to Lancaster and became the executive director of a nonprofit that provides support and microloans to Pennsylvanians starting small businesses. Jess lives in southeast Lancaster City with her husband Chad and their two young daughters who attend local public schools.

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.