Over 34,000 Women Want to Run for Office

For Immediate Release
February 27, 2018 

Over 34,000 Women Want to Run for Office
EMILY's List announces record-breaking numbers ahead of pre-Oscars brunch and panel discussion in Los Angeles

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILY's List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics, announced that over 34,000 women have reached out to the organization since Election Day 2016 who are interested in running for office. During the full 2016 election cycle, a then-record breaking 920 women contacted EMILY's List about running for office.

“It's clear that pro-choice Democratic women aren't just interested in winning critical elections in 2018 – they're going to change the political landscape forever,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List. “Women are fired up in a way we have never seen before. They can't wait to take action. This historic energy is why EMILY's List has heard from over 34,000 women in just 15 months who want to run for office – not just this year, but in elections to come. They know that making systemic change in this country means that we need to elect waves of Democratic women to office each and every election – and that's exactly what we're going to do here at EMILY's List.”

“This is a sea change moment in American politics,” continued Schriock. “Tens of thousands of women are raising their hands to say that no matter what the Republican Party wants, we're never going back. With these women at our country's helm, we won't.”

This news comes the morning of EMILY's List's pre-Oscars brunch and panel discussion in Los Angeles to focus on how women are raising their voices and fighting back from Hollywood to the election booth. Moderated by activist, comedian and EMILY's List Creative Council Co-Chair Chelsea Handler, the event will include remarks from EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock and a panel with former Senator Barbara Boxer, Padma Lakshmi, Elaine Welteroth, Amber Tamblyn, and Constance Wu. To attend the event as press, please RSVP here.

In response to the outpouring of women who have reached out for help running for office, EMILY's List launched a series of free webinars offering campaign tools and resources. Over 1,000 women have participated in these trainings since the start of the year. EMILY's List trained over 2,400 women in-person in 2017.

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.