EMILYs List Endorses Donna Shalala in Florida’s 27th District

For Immediate Release 
May 18, 2018

EMILYs List Endorses Donna Shalala in Florida's 27th District

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Donna Shalala for Congress in Florida's 27th Congressional District. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Few people have dedicated their careers to fighting for working families the way Donna Shalala has – and Florida families need a champion now more than ever. As the secretary of health and human services (HHS) under President Clinton, Donna led the introduction and implementation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and helped achieve the highest child immunization rates in U.S. history. With our access to quality health care constantly coming under attack by this Congress, Floridians need a representative with Donna’s record of fighting for women and children and getting results that improve people’s lives.

“Donna is running to fill retiring Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s seat – a seat that is considered a key pickup opportunity for Democrats in our fight to take back the House. She is a proven leader who is prepared to take her breadth and depth of experience fighting for others to the halls of Congress. EMILYs List is proud to stand with Donna and show her the full support of our community to turn this red seat blue.”

In addition to her many accomplishments as HHS secretary, Donna Shalala most recently served as the president of the Clinton Foundation, helping carry out the foundation’s efforts to improve public health and increase economic opportunity around the world. Prior to that role, she was president of the University of Miami, where she increased the university’s endowment, expanding private support for student scholarships, academic and research programs, and facilities. Donna has also served as the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, president of Hunter College of the City University of New York, and assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Donna has also served as chair of the Committee on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and co-chair of the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors.

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.