EMILYs List Statement on Karin Housley’s Shameful Facebook Post

For Immediate Release

October 15, 2018

EMILYs List Statement on Karin Housley’s Shameful Facebook Post

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Huffington Post reported that Karin Housley, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, compared former first lady Michelle Obama to a “chimp” in a Facebook post in 2009. Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications at EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“It’s very simple: someone making these kinds of shameful comments has no place in the Senate. Minnesota voters deserve better than Karin Housley, who still refuses to apologize.”

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 get more women to run at the local, state, and national levels.