EMILYs List Endorses Lauren Underwood for Reelection in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Lauren Underwood for reelection in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District. EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler released the following statement:
“Rep. Lauren Underwood has been a critical voice in Congress for reproductive freedom, affordable health care, Black maternal health, gun violence prevention and more, always seeking to improve lives with everything she does. She has shattered ceilings and made history, becoming the first woman and first Black representative of Illinois’ 14th Congressional District and the youngest Black woman to ever serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. EMILYs List has been proud to stand by her, and we are proud once again to endorse her for reelection because we know she has what it takes to continue to stand up for our rights and our freedoms.”
Rep. Lauren Underwood is a champion for Illinois working families who serves in Congress to continue her work expanding economic opportunity for all. She is a registered nurse with hands-on experience in our health care system and a proven leader who has dedicated her career to expanding all Americans’ access to quality, affordable care. When she was eight years old, she discovered that she had a heart condition and the health care providers who treated and helped her manage her condition inspired her to pursue a career in nursing. President Obama appointed her to serve as a senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she helped communities across the country prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters, bioterror threats, and public health emergencies, and she went on to help implement the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Underwood has also taught a graduate-level nursing course, helping to grow the next generation of nurse practitioners. Illinois’ 14th Congressional District had never before been represented by a woman or a Black representative in Congress until she became the first with her historic 2018 victory. Rep. Underwood lives in Naperville, Illinois — the community where she is proud to have grown up and attended public schools.
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
