EMILYs List Leaders on Presidential Debate, Taylor Swift Endorsement, and Kamala Harris Mobilizing Young Voters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Kamala Harris emerged as the clear winner of the first presidential debate, commanding the stage on every issue that matters to the American people. While she outlined her vision protecting voters’ fundamental freedoms, Donald Trump again took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade and twice refused to say that he would veto a national abortion ban.

Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs List, on Harris’s performance:

• “Kamala Harris gave a true masterclass in how to win a political debate, inciting yet another wave of excitement and energy from the American people to elect her as the next president of the United States. Voters are ready to leave behind Donald Trump and his divisive attacks, and elect a candidate who will tirelessly fight for their freedoms – Kamala Harris.”

Christina Reynolds, senior vice president at EMILYs List, on Trump’s abortion comments:

• “Amid Donald Trump’s incoherent debate performance, he made one thing glaringly clear: He will not hesitate to sign a national abortion ban into law if given the opportunity to do so. Donald Trump doesn’t suddenly believe in our reproductive rights; he can just read the polls. Knowing how deeply unpopular his record on abortion is with the American people, Trump will keep lying to voters about his true agenda now through election day.

Fiona MacLeod, national press secretary at EMILYs List, on Taylor Swift’s endorsement: 

• “Taylor Swift’s endorsement is a reflection of how millions of women across the nation are feeling: fed up with Donald Trump’s antics and hopeful about the future that Kamala Harris offers us. With her tremendous cultural influence, we’re going to see a boost in the already soaring rates of voter registration and grassroots support for Kamala Harris’s campaign – particularly from women and young people, who are going to decide this election.” 

Halle Farrar, graduate student at Missouri State University and EMILYs List intern, on young voters:

• “Young people like myself are fired up for Kamala Harris. We’re supposed to be worried about our career paths and which city we want to live in after graduation, not being stripped of our rights by extreme Republicans like Donald Trump. Kamala Harris offers us a path to growing up with the same rights our mothers had, and we can’t wait to turn out in mass for her this November.” 

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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.