Missouri State Representative Cora Faith Walker Nominated for EMILYs List’s Rising Star Award

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2018  

Missouri State Representative Cora Faith Walker Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Missouri state Representative Cora Faith Walker is a nominee for the fifth annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.

“Cora has dedicated her life and career to fighting for her community,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “Her passion and understanding have guided her as she advocated for affordable health care. Cora continues to prove her devotion to justice and equality daily, and EMILYs List is proud to nominate her for the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.”

Cora Faith Walker currently serves as the state representative for Missouri’s 74th House District. Throughout her career as a lawyer and a legislator, Cora Faith Walker has proven that she will never shy away from the tough fights. She is a survivor of sexual assault, a champion for women in her community, and, for years to come, she will continue to be a beacon of hope that change is possible. 

Named in honor of the dedicated and courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office. The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014, Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley in 2015, Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016, and Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym in 2017.

The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input.

Cora Faith Walker is nominated alongside:

Kim Foxx, Cook County (Chicago, IL) State’s Attorney
Kristine Reeves, Washington State representative
Regina Romero, Tucson (Arizona) city councilor
Faith Winter, Colorado state representative
Michelle Wu, Boston (Massachusetts) city councilor

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 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 EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color – including every single Latina, African American, and Asian American Democratic congresswoman currently serving.