EMILYs List Endorses Maya Rockeymoore Cummings for Governor of Maryland

October 30, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed progressive champion and small business owner Maya Rockeymoore Cummings for governor of Maryland. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:
 
“Maya Rockymoore Cummings is a progressive trailblazer with the bold ideas and real-world experience to create broad economic prosperity and opportunity for all Marylanders. Maya grew up in a military family that stressed hard work, discipline, and service to others – the same values that drove her to lead the fight to protect and strengthen Social Security, start her own small business, and found a nonprofit dedicated to improving people's lives.”
 
“In contrast to Maya Rockeymoore Cummings' forward-looking vision, Governor Larry Hogan is taking Maryland backward with his conservative, out-of-touch agenda that includes his refusal to push back against Donald Trump and Washington Republicans' efforts to sabotage everyday Marylanders' health care and his efforts to block expanding earned sick leave to hundreds of thousands of hardworking Maryland families.”
 
“Maya Rockeymoore Cummings will be a courageous leader and strong champion for healthy, thriving communities for Maryland's children and families in a state that has never before elected a woman or person of color as governor. EMILY's List is thrilled to stand by her side.”
 
EMILYs List put Governor Larry Hogan “On Notice” in September for his shameful record of turning his back on women’s rights and shortchanging Maryland families — including appointing a Trumpcare proponent to head a top health care post, failing to protect Planned Parenthood funding, and vetoing expanding earned sick leave to more than 700,000 Marylanders.
 
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings is a longtime fighter for Maryland’s working families running for governor to expand economic opportunity for all. The daughter of an Air Force veteran, Maya grew up in diverse communities with access to quality health care and educational opportunities. Her parents grew up in the Jim Crow South, and taught Maya and her siblings — only the fourth generation removed from slavery — to work hard, give back, and never take the rights and opportunities they enjoyed for granted. A proud HBCU graduate, she went on to earn her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science and dedicated her career to improving working families’ lives. Maya became a legislative aide in 1998, and worked tirelessly to educate Congress about dangerous Social Security privatization proposals and helped build the coalition to fight back.
 
She went on to serve as senior resident scholar for health and income security at the National Urban League, and served as vice president of research and programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. She was a national leader in the fight to reject President George W. Bush’s plan to end Social Security as we know it. Maya then founded a social change strategy firm as well as a nonprofit think tank, and is a progressive leader fighting to make Maryland’s economy work for everyone, to increase opportunities for Maryland entrepreneurs, and to expand Social Security for the most vulnerable Marylanders.
 
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 help more women run and win at the local, state, and national levels.