EMILYs List Endorses Leslie Cockburn in Virginia’s 5th District

For Immediate Release
April 20, 2018

EMILYs List Endorses Leslie Cockburn in Virginia's 5th District
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Leslie Cockburn for Congress in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Leslie Cockburn is an accomplished journalist who has spent her career holding government officials accountable to the people they serve, and plans to do the same when elected to office. A proud resident of Rappahannock County, Leslie has served on local conservation boards and has fought against energy policies that would be harmful to the environment. Leslie is running to fight for Virginians in Congress and ensure that working families’ and senior citizens’ voices are heard in Washington.

“Congressman Tom Garrett is a far-right member of the Freedom Caucus whose extreme views do not represent the people he was elected to serve. While he’s tried to cut critical funding for health care while voting for corporate tax cuts, Leslie is running to protect health care and expand economic opportunities for hardworking Virginians. EMILYs List is excited to support Leslie in her fight to flip this seat and help us take back the House this November.”

Leslie Cockburn was an investigative journalist for 35 years, working as a producer on programs such as CBS News “60 Minutes” and PBS “Frontline,” and has received multiple awards throughout her career. She has covered international conflicts, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has reported on wrongdoing in Washington and on Wall Street. Leslie and her husband reside on a farm against the Blue Ridge Mountains in Rappahannock County. They have two daughters – both of whom were married on the farm – one son and four grandchildren.

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.