EMILYs List Statement on Sen. Franken’s Resignation

December 7, 2017 

Today, Sen. Al Franken announced that he will resign from the United States Senate. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, released the following statement:

“After far too many years of having no real voice in a system that failed them, women are increasingly joining together to speak out loudly and clearly against harassment, assault, and policies that have made these issues hard to report, and EMILYs List stands with them.” 

“While there are no winners in a situation like this, we are glad that Democrats are standing together to protect our values and we hope that Governor Dayton will appoint one of Minnesota’s many well-qualified Democratic women to fill this seat.”

“EMILYs List is focused on electing pro-choice Democratic women because we know that those women will work to improve the lives of their constituents and women across the country. We could not be more proud that women like Jackie Speier, Pramila Jayapal, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cheri Bustos, Kamala Harris, and so many others are leading the way to ensure that we deal with individual situations and work to fix the system that too often leaves victims without a voice or a way out.”

“We are grateful to the brave women who have broken the silence around this issue — and those who have been inspired by this fight enough to run for office and change our system. We stand with you and look forward to the wave of women who will be elected next year and for many years to come.”

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.