For Immediate Release
Nov 3, 2004

EMILY's List Candidate Melissa Bean Topples GOP Incumbent Phil Crane in Landmark Illinois Win

WASHINGTON – Following is a statement by Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY's List, on Melissa Bean's win in Illinois.

"Melissa Bean's upset win over Phil Crane, the longest-serving Republican member of the House of Representatives, proved that innovative ideas and hard work have the power to defeat the armor of incumbency. The voters of Illinois's eighth district have spoken loud and clear: they are ready for a change.

"On the issues that most concern them, Melissa will offer her constituents the dynamic energy and true commitment that they have been lacking for so long. She will represent her district with strength and dignity in the House and will restore accountable, effective leadership to the position. EMILY's List members are enormously proud to have supported Melissa in her successful fight to bring about progressive change in Illinois."

Melissa Bean – IL 8

Melissa Bean brought 20-years of experience in business and entrepreneurship, combined with a deep commitment to her community and her perspective as a wife and mother to her candidacy for Congress in Illinois' Eighth District.

Bean, who is 42 years old, is president of a consulting firm serving high-tech Fortune 1000 clients internationally. Before founding Sales Resources Inc. (SRI) in 1995, Melissa helped build revenues in management positions in area technology companies, including Arrow Electronics, Motorola, SynOptics (now Nortel) and Dataflex.

Bean's practical business background drives her commitment to holding corporate and congressional leaders to a greater level of fiscal accountability, and she feels her management experience well prepares her for the challenge of overcoming partisan politics and finding common-sense solutions to the complex problems facing our nation.

Facts on EMILY's List in Illinois

With more than 100,000 contributing members across the country, EMILY's List is the nation's largest political action committee. We are a network dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to federal, state, and local office by recruiting and funding viable women candidates; helping them build and run effective campaign organizations; and mobilizing women voters to help elect progressive candidates across the nation. Nationally, EMILY's List members made more than 109,000 individual contributions to EMILY's List candidates through the country. With an average contribution of just $98, EMILY's List members contributed approximately 10.6 million dollars to EMILY's List candidates around the country.

  • EMILY's List has more than 4,000 members in Illinois
  • Overall, EMILY's List invested almost $200,000 toward outreach efforts and candidate support in Illinois.

EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE! in Illinois

EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE!, (ELWV) the nation's largest voter engagement strategy designed specifically for women voters, educates women voters around the country and mobilizes them on behalf of Democrats up and down the ballot. ELWV reached out to women voters through television, radio, direct mail, the internet and, most importantly, personal door-to-door contact to motivate them to support Democratic candidates. In 2004, EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE! focused in several presidential battleground states, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

In Illinois the EMILY's Women Vote program...

  • Mailed more than 300,000 pieces of literature to educate women on key issues.
  • Called more than 60,000 voters to encourage women and men to turn out to vote.