For Immediate Release
Sep 27, 2007

For More Information
Ramona Oliver
roliver@emilyslist.org

EMILY's List Announces Endorsement of Jill Long Thompson for Governor of Indiana

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- EMILY's List, the nation's largest political action committee and financial resource for women running for elective office, today announced its endorsement of Jill Long Thompson in her bid to become the next governor of Indiana.

"The breadth and depth of Jill Long Thompson's experience and service to the people of Indiana make her preeminently qualified to serve as that state's chief executive," said Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY's List. "Jill is a proven and trusted leader in Indiana whose work in local and federal government has made such a positive difference in the lives of Hoosiers. We are proud to bring the full support of EMILY's List members to bear in electing her the first woman governor of Indiana."

Jill Long Thompson represented Northeast Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. She then served as United States Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development from 1995 to 2001. Most recently, Long Thompson served as CEO and senior fellow at The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy.

Long Thompson has extraordinary momentum on her side, with independent polling showing her enjoying a significant lead in the Democratic primary and within single digits of Governor Mitch Daniels in the general election. She has already garnered the endorsements of many important local unions, including RWDSU, UTU Local 298, and AFSCME Local 446. With this kind of support so early in the campaign, Long Thompson is poised to join an elite group of women governors supported by EMILY's List over the last few cycles, including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan.

With more than 100,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is the largest political action committee in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has raised over $240 million to elect 68 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 13 to the U.S. Senate, and eight governors. Over the course of 22 years, EMILY's List has helped elect hundreds of pro-choice Democratic women to federal office, state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices.