EMILYs List Endorses Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson for the U.S. Senate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson for the U.S. Senate. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement:
“Sen. Marsha Blackburn has consistently put her politics ahead of Tennesseans’ lives and safety. State Rep. Gloria Johnson was a teacher for 27 years and ran for the state Legislature to put Tennesseans first, fighting to lower costs for families and protect abortion access and voting rights. EMILYs List is proud to endorse her because we know the same dedication she has exhibited in the state House will make her a senator who will truly serve and fight for Tennesseans.”
Gloria Johnson was born into a family who taught her to put people first no matter the cost or their differences. Throughout her childhood she remembers KKK members terrorizing her family because her dad investigated Klan members in the Deep South and brought them to justice. It was through this experience that Johnson was motivated to later stand up for the disenfranchised and those who couldn’t fight for themselves. She went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in special education and teaching from the University of Tennessee in 1986. Johnson worked as a special education teacher for 27 years prior to becoming a legislator. She noticed that the voices of teachers were under attack and elected officials were stripping away the rights of public school teachers and students. Johnson decided enough was enough and ran for the Tennessee House in 2012. She was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 13 in Knoxville.
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.
