Women at the Center of Political Change

The Untold Story of Women in the States

Wow! Or as we are saying around here: POP! which stands for the EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program, the program we run to support races on the state and local levels. What a few days it has been. As EMILY's List sorts out all the great news from election day, we are amazed at the change that swept across the country – you know about Congress, but we want to talk about the great things that happened for Democratic women on the state level.

The unsung heroes of our election were the incumbents endorsed by EMILY's List who ran strong from beginning to end and ensured that the foundation of our Democratic leadership stayed solid. Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona are Democratic women leading historically red states, setting an example for our entire country. Governor Jennifer Granholm battled against the vast wealth and incessant attacks of her opponent and surged into a lead built on the strength of her tremendous leadership and dedication to the people of Michigan and held her office.

Since 2001, the EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program (POP) has helped expand the number of women running for state and local office to record levels. This cycle, EMILY's List endorsed in 267 down-ballot races – county legislator, state House, state Senate, for example – the races that don't make it on CNN, but form the farm team of the next generation of national leaders. As of now, 194 women have won their races in 31 states, and the counting is not done yet.

Even more impressive is the number of pro-choice Democratic women who were running for statewide office and won! We endorsed in 23 statewide races and won 20 of those seats. These are races like the Ohio (Jennifer Brunner), California (Debra Bowen) and New Mexico (Mary Herrera) Secretaries of State, and in Nevada three statewide wins for pro-choice Democratic women as Treasurer (Kate Marshall), Attorney General (Catherine Cortez Masto) and Controller (Kim Wallin).

We invested nearly $2.5 million into this important POP work and the dividends are obvious. These rising stars are women you should watch. This year, ten of the women we endorsed in top tier federal races were previously supported or trained though our POP program – and six of them won.

EMILY's List worked diligently in the states to help maintain Democratic majorities in legislatures across the country. By electing and protecting pro-choice Democratic women we helped maintain Democratic control in the following legislative bodies: Colorado House, Colorado Senate, North Carolina House, Washington House and Washington Senate. In Colorado, House Majority Leader Alice Madden will maintain her post, and so will Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald.

POP also worked to help flip six legislative bodies to Democratic control: Iowa House, Iowa Senate, Michigan House, Minnesota House, New Hampshire Senate and Oregon House. In Wisconsin, Sen. Judy Robson was elected the new Democratic Majority Leader, joining more than a dozen women EMILY's List has helped ascend to leadership in state legislatures. The roles these women play is becoming ever more important because more control and policy making power has fallen to state and local government. And in the long term, many of these legislatures are in charge of congressional and legislative redistricting.

Still want to know more about POP? Here are some great stories from the states:

Florida – A new star has risen in Florida by the name of Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer. Sink was the only woman elected statewide in 2006. Her win means she joins Sen. Bill Nelson as the only victorious statewide Democrats from Tuesday night.

Minnesota – If you live in House district 56A and 56B, you are now represented by a new Democratic woman in the state House, and the state Senate. Your new State Auditor, Rebecca Otto and your new Attorney General, Lori Swanson, are both Democratic women. And finally, your new U.S. Senator is Amy Klobuchar, who held on to a Democratic Senate seat and helped turn the power in the U.S. Senate.

Nevada – It was a great night for Democratic women in Nevada on the state level. Three of the six constitutional statewide offices are now held by Democratic women – Treasurer Kate Marshall; Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Controller Kim Wallin. These women made history in Nevada, becoming the first Democrats elected to statewide office since 2003.

New Hampshire – The Democratic wave was a strong one in New Hampshire this cycle. The Senate turned Democratic (and so did the House). But in the Senate five new Democratic women were elected with EMILY's List help. Senate Minority Leader Sylvia Larsen is now poised to be the new Senate President.

Those are just the highlights from an amazing night, but remember the counting is not finished just yet. There are still votes left to count and legislative control to be decided. The rising stars of POP today are the future leaders of the Democratic Party tomorrow.