EMILYs List Endorses Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts’s 7th District

For Immediate Release
September 10, 2018

EMILYs List Endorses Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts’s 7th District

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Ayanna Pressley for Congress in Massachusetts’s 7th Congressional District. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Ayanna Pressley is a longtime activist and community leader who is the voice Massachusetts families need fighting for them in Congress. In her eight years serving on the Boston City Council, Ayanna has successfully reformed the public schools’ sexual education and health curriculum, enabled job creation by small and locally owned restaurants in underserved neighborhoods, and convened powerful listening sessions and focus groups for community members. She is deeply committed to advancing policies that help women and girls, and will continue to be a vocal advocate in the House of Representatives.

“EMILYs List recognized Ayanna’s strengths and potential when she was the 2015 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award honoree, and we are so thrilled to continue supporting her as she takes her passion for service to Congress. Ayanna was the first woman of color elected to the Boston City Council and was the top vote-getter in three consecutive elections. We have no doubt she has what it takes to win this race and help Democrats take back the House in November.”

The only child of a single mother who struggled to make ends meet, Ayanna Pressley grew up knowing that she would have to work even harder than her peers if she wanted to succeed. She went on to serve as a senior aide to Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II and Senator John Kerry. Ayanna was first elected to the Boston City Council in 2009 and has been re-elected four more times since then. In addition to receiving the EMILYs List Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award in 2015, Ayanna has also been named to several lists, including Boston Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful People (2015) and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Ten Outstanding Young Leaders (2014), among others. Ayanna lives in Dorchester with her husband and stepdaughter.

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.