EMILYs List Endorses Sonya Halpern in Georgia’s 39th State Senate District
For Immediate Release
October 9, 2020
EMILYs List Endorses Sonya Halpern in Georgia’s 39th State Senate District
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Sonya Halpern in Georgia’s 39th State Senate District. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:
“EMILYs List is proud to endorse Sonya Halpern for Georgia’s 39th State Senate District. From her position as a founding co-chair of the Electing Women Alliance in Atlanta to her service as the first African American and Georgian chair of President Obama’s Advisory Committee on the Arts, Sonya is a proven leader with a clear vision for progress. Sonya has dedicated her life to serving and empowering others. In the State Senate, she’ll fight tooth and nail for quality public schools, affordable health care and housing, and criminal justice reform. EMILYs List is confident that Sonya is the best candidate to build on Nikema Williams’ great work in this district, and we are committed to electing more powerful pro-choice Democratic women of color to the Georgia State Senate.”
Sonya Halpern is a dedicated community leader who has spent the past 20 years putting down roots in Georgia. Sonya was raised by two hardworking parents who were proud products of Tougaloo College in Mississippi. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and her master’s degree from the University of Hartford. After graduating in the midst of a recession, Sonya learned the importance of building a strong community for support. After helping develop the first digital ad efforts at ESPN, Sonya moved to Atlanta to work for Cox Enterprises. She is heavily involved with community service organizations including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and the YMCA. She and her husband, Daniel, have three children.
This endorsement is in addition to 27 previously endorsed EMILYs List candidates in Georgia: Jen Jordan (SD-06), Nikki Merritt (SD-09), Kelly Rose (SD-17), Sally Harrell (SD-40), Kim Jackson (SD-41), Michelle Au (SD-48), Sarah Beeson (SD-56), Mary Frances Williams (HD-37), Luisa Wakeman (HD-43), Connie Di Cicco (HD-44), Sara Tindall Ghazal (HD-45), Mary Robichaux (HD-48), Angelika Kausche (HD-50), Shea Roberts (HD-52), Betsy Holland (HD-54), Stacey Evans (HD-57), Bee Nguyen (HD-89), Beth Moore (HD-95), Nakita Hemingway (HD-104), Donna McLeod (HD-105), Rebecca Mitchell (HD-106), Shelly Hutchinson (HD-107), Jasmine Clark (HD-108), Regina Lewis-Ward (HD-109), Mokah Jasmine Johnson (HD-117), Joyce Barlow (HD-151), and Julie Jordan (HD-179).
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic 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 strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 55,000 women have 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.
