EMILY's List Announces Endorsement of Jeanne Shaheen for United States Senate

Washington, DC -- EMILY's List, the largest financial resource for women running for elected office, today announced its support for Jeanne Shaheen in her bid for the United States Senate. EMILY's List President Ellen R. Malcolm shared the news in a personal letter to our members earlier today:

Dear EMILY's List member

I have fabulous news! Our friend, former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, just announced that she is running against GOP rubber-stamping Sen. John Sununu. I am proud to tell you that EMILY's List wasted no time in endorsing her.

A three-term governor, Jeanne Shaheen is answering the call of more than a thousand Granite Staters who signed a petition asking her to run against Sununu. He has lost their trust by voting in lockstep with Bush, including on the war in Iraq. Sununu is radically anti-choice, even opposing embryonic stem cell research. He has aided Bush in rolling back environmental protections and supported Bush's failed economic agenda that has brought on record deficits.

Jeanne Shaheen narrowly lost to Sununu in 2002, but his victory was tarnished by the guilty pleas of GOP operatives who admitted they jammed Democratic phone lines on election day. Two Republican operatives served jail time for this conspiracy scheme.

So helping Shaheen unseat Sununu in 2008 would be a double victory: we can move another Republican seat into the Democratic column, strengthening our Senate majority — AND we can right the wrong of the 2002 election, which Sununu won because of Republican dirty tricks.

As governor, Jeanne Shaheen dramatically improved the lives of women and families in New Hampshire. She expanded access to quality public kindergarten, extended health care coverage to thousands of uninsured children, and used her power to protect reproductive rights. In fact, one of Shaheen's earliest acts as governor was repealing New Hampshire's 150-year-old law making abortion a felony!

Since 2002, Shaheen has vaulted to national prominence as a progressive leader. A former school teacher, she took the helm of the Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and chaired John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Recruiting a candidate of Shaheen's stature makes this a huge pick-up opportunity for Democrats, who have been gaining power in New Hampshire.

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 and helped 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.

Contribute

Latest Video