EMILYs List Endorses Nellie Gorbea for Governor of Rhode Island

For Immediate Release
December 2, 2021

EMILYs List Endorses Nellie Gorbea for Governor of Rhode Island

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Nellie Gorbea in the race for governor of Rhode Island. Laphonza Butler, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“EMILYs List is proud to stand with Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea as she runs to make history once again as Governor of Rhode Island.  Secretary Gorbea is a dedicated public servant who has prioritized integrity, transparency, and inclusivity as Rhode Island secretary of state. She stepped up to protect Rhode Islanders’ right to vote when that right was under threat, working to modernize election infrastructure, increase cybersecurity measures, and implement automated voter registration. We know that as governor, Gorbea will continue to lead by example and work with diverse coalitions to protect the rights of Rhode Islanders. She will prioritize local economic development, housing affordability, school improvement, and address climate change. A Governor Gorbea administration will ensure that workers and families can live in a more equitable state. The entire EMILYs List community is ready to help Secretary Gorbea win this important election.”

Originally from Puerto Rico, Gorbea attended Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and earned a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University. Before entering public service, Gorbea founded the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund and was the executive director of HousingWorks RI. Gorbea ran for secretary of state in 2014 and made history when she became the first Hispanic elected to statewide office in New England. She was reelected in 2018. If elected governor, Gorbea would be the first Hispanic governor of Rhode Island and the first Hispanic governor in New England.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.