EMILYs List Endorses Gov. Gina Raimondo for Re-Election in 2018
February 22, 2017
EMILYs List Endorses Gov. Gina Raimondo for Re-Election in 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Gov. Gina Raimondo for re-election as governor of Rhode Island.
“EMILYs List is proud to stand by Gov. Gina Raimondo, who is a true champion for Rhode Islanders,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “Gina has been a fighter for progressive values and economic security for the people of Rhode Island throughout her remarkable career. She fought to expand funding for Rhode Island’s schools, ensure college affordability for all students, and protect women’s reproductive rights – making her not only an exemplary leader, but an essential voice for working families. As one of only two Democratic women governors in the country, Gina serves as an inspiration for the future women leaders we know our country needs – and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in her next term. “
Governor Gina Raimondo is running for re-election to continue building on the impressive success of her first term. Before she was elected in 2014, Rhode Island had not elected a Democratic governor since 1990 and had never before elected a woman governor. A native Rhode Islander, Gina grew up in a middle-class family in Smithfield. Her late father was a World War II veteran who attended college on the G.I. Bill and worked at the local Bulova watch factory for 28 years, until the company shipped jobs overseas, leaving hundreds of people out of work. Gina’s parents sacrificed to see that their children got the best education possible. As a teenager, Gina rode a RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority) bus to LaSalle Academy in Providence, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class. A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, where she helped to edit the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, Gina was a Rhodes Scholar and earned a Ph.D. from Oxford. Following a successful career in finance, she was inspired to run for office after reading about local libraries closing on account of budget cuts. “I was overwhelmed with a sense of service,” Gina recalls. “I thought about how much I relied on public libraries and transportation to get to school.” Gina is working tirelessly to build an economy that works for all Rhode Islanders and to make the state a center for innovation and technology. She lives in Providence with her husband Andy and their children Ceci and Tommy.
Gina’s leadership, strong business background, and vision have helped Rhode Island turn the corner on its long-running economic struggles as businesses big and small choose to bring more jobs to the Ocean State. Her business savvy has helped the Rhode Island government serve people more effectively and efficiently, and Gina has funneled those savings into workforce training programs that match community colleges with local employers. She has revived the long-vacant Rhode Island Commission on Women to promote equality in the state. A fierce advocate for putting an end to gender discrimination in pay, Gina launched the Rhode Island Pay Equity Tip Line, a telephone line allowing women and men to report employers who violate the state law banning gender-based wage discrimination so that the state can hold employers accountable and lift up those who aren’t earning equal pay for equal work. She has signed into law bills to put in place workplace protections for pregnant women and to require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to new mothers. She recently oversaw the completion of the first offshore wind farm in the country, which has the capacity to power 17,000 homes sustainably — reducing dependency on oil and gas, cutting the cost of electricity by more than half for some Rhode Islanders, and putting locals to work in an innovative industry. Gina has proposed and is fighting for an initiative that will make Rhode Island the first state in the nation to guarantee that every high school graduate has an opportunity to get two years of free tuition at any public college or university. Gina has also made voter registration easier for Rhode Islanders, and is dedicated to helping her constituents perform their civic duty and make their voices heard. When re-elected, she will continue fighting every day to keep Rhode Island moving forward.
EMILY’s 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 trained nearly 10,000 women to run and 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 EMILY’s List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color – including every single Latina, African American, and Asian American Democratic congresswoman currently serving.
