EMILYs List Endorses Jennifer Carroll Foy for Virginia Governor

For Immediate Release
April 22, 2021

EMILYs List Endorses Jennifer Carroll Foy for Virginia Governor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Jennifer Carroll Foy in the race for Virginia governor. Emily Cain, executive director of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“EMILYs List is proud to endorse Jennifer Carroll Foy for governor of Virginia. Throughout her career, Jennifer has been a tireless advocate for Virginia’s working families, fighting for racial and economic equity, increased access to health care, and criminal justice reform. Jennifer understands the challenges that many Virginians are facing— juggling multiple jobs, struggling to afford medical bills, and reeling from the impacts of COVID-19 — because she has lived these experiences herself. It is long past time to elect a Black woman governor who will dedicate herself to bettering the lives of Virginia’s working families and communities of color, as we know Jennifer will.”

Jennifer Carroll Foy previously served as the delegate for Virginia’s 2nd District in the House of Delegates. Born and raised in Virginia, Jennifer attended the historically all-men Virginia Military Institute, enrolling in only the third class of women cadets. Jennifer is also a young mother, former foster parent, and a public defender. During her time in office, she has been a constant advocate for youth and has supported legislation on education, Medicaid expansion, and improved transportation. In 2019, Jennifer was nominated for EMILYs List’s sixth annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award. If elected, Jennifer would be the first Black woman governor in the country.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 157 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.