EMILY's List is an American
political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect
Democratic female candidates
in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by
Ellen Malcolm
Ellen R. Malcolm (born February 2, 1947) is an American activist with a long career in American politics, particularly in political fundraising. She founded EMILY's List in 1985 and served as its president until 2010.
Early life
Malcolm ...
in 1985.
The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast". Malcolm commented that "it makes the dough rise".
[ The saying is a reference to a convention of political fundraising: that receiving many donations early in a race helps to attract subsequent donors. EMILY's List bundles contributions to the campaigns of Democratic women in favor of abortion rights running in targeted races.][
From 1985 through 2008, EMILY's List had raised and spent $240 million for political candidates.][ EMILY's List spent $27.4 million in 2010, $34 million in 2012, and $44.9 million in 2014.] The organization was on track to raise $60 million for the 2016 election cycle, much of it earmarked for Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, whose presidential bid EMILY's List had endorsed.
History and mission
EMILY's List was founded in 1985, when 25 women met in the home of Ellen Malcolm
Ellen R. Malcolm (born February 2, 1947) is an American activist with a long career in American politics, particularly in political fundraising. She founded EMILY's List in 1985 and served as its president until 2010.
Early life
Malcolm ...
. Founding members included Barbara Boxer
Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. ...
, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala
Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Presid ...
.[ In 1986, early financial support from EMILY's List helped elect Barbara Mikulski of ]Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).
The group's mission is to cultivate a donor network to raise money for female Democratic candidates in favor of abortion rights. To become an official EMILY's List member, an individual must pay $100 to join EMILY's List, and agree to donate a minimum of $100 each to two U.S. Senate, U.S. House, or gubernatorial candidates. Members make their donations directly to EMILY's List, which bundles the checks together and forwards them to candidates.
In her book, ''When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics'', Ellen Malcolm, the founder of the organization, stated that "creating progressive policies and promoting them can be incredibly valuable. But those policies will never be implemented unless enough politicians are elected who support them." They focused specifically on women in favor of abortion rights because they felt that "women couldn't be equal until they had control over their bodies."
They chose to focus on raising early money for women because women were not getting money from the Democratic party and thus were generally not winning races even if they were qualified, and they felt that early money could help convince people that their campaigns were credible and would help them raise more money later on.[Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 39. Print.]
For the 2006 election cycle, EMILY's List raised about $46 million for candidates and the group was listed as the biggest PAC in the nation by ''Political Money Line''. EMILY's List endorsed 31 candidates in 2006, eight of whom were victorious.[
In 2008, EMILY's List endorsed 22 U.S. House candidates, two U.S. Senate candidates, and three gubernatorial contenders.][ The PAC helped elect two new female senators, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and supported the gubernatorial election of ]Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the List of governors of North Carolina, 73rd Govern ...
of North Carolina, the re-election of Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington, and the successful elections of twelve new women to the United States House of Representatives.[
EMILY's List criteria for picking candidates include staff recommendations, viability, "demographics and history of the district, analysis of opponents or potential opponents, analysis of candidate's education, political experience, etc., demonstrated success at fund-raising, poll data to demonstrate name recognition and grass roots support."]
Staff
Laphonza Butler took over as President of EMILY's List in 2021. She was preceded by Stephanie Schriock
Stephanie Schriock (born 1973 (confirms birth year)) is an American political strategist and former president of EMILY's List, a position she assumed in 2010.
Early life and education
Schriock was born in Mankato, MN in 1973. She attended Butte ...
(2010-2021). Emily Cain
Emily Ann Cain (born March 29, 1980) is an American politician from Maine and Executive Director of EMILY's List. A member of the Democratic Party, Cain served in the Maine Senate from 2012 to 2014, representing the 30th district which includes p ...
has served as Executive Director since 2017. Amy Dacey
Amy Dacey is an American Democratic politician. She was the CEO of the Democratic National Committee from January 2014 until her resignation in August 2016.
Early years and education
Amy Dacey graduated from Auburn High School in Cayuga Coun ...
was the executive director of EMILY's List from 2010 through 2013.
The organization's board of directors includes Ellen Malcolm
Ellen R. Malcolm (born February 2, 1947) is an American activist with a long career in American politics, particularly in political fundraising. She founded EMILY's List in 1985 and served as its president until 2010.
Early life
Malcolm ...
, Rebecca Haile, Yolanda Caraway, Yvette Nicole Brown, Maya Harris, María Teresa Kumar
María Teresa Kumar (née María Teresa Petersen; 1974) is a Colombian American political rights activist and President and CEO of the Latino political organization, Voto Latino. Kumar was named by Elle Magazine in 2013 as one of the ten most in ...
, Wendy Greuel
Wendy Jane Greuel (born May 23, 1961) is an American politician. She served as Los Angeles City Controller from 2009–13. Greuel was the second woman elected to citywide office in Los Angeles, after her predecessor Laura Chick.
Previously, sh ...
, Judith Lichtman, and Donald Sussman
Selwyn Donald Sussman (born June 8, 1946) is an American asset manager and philanthropist who is the founder and chief investment officer of the Paloma Funds. Sussman has served on the boards of a number of civic, cultural, educational, and rese ...
.
Programs
The Political Opportunity Program (POP) was established in 2001 to encourage Democratic women in favor of abortion rights to run for state and local office. POP targets its resources toward Democratic women in favor of abortion rights running for state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and local offices.
''Women Vote!''
In 1995, EMILY's List began a program called ''Women Vote!'' in order to promote a higher voter turnout among women. Women Vote! is Emily's List's independent expenditure arm which communicates directly with voters.
Madam President
In 2013, EMILY's List announced its Madam President campaign, saying "There is a mandate for women's leadership in this country. But we have yet to break through the final glass ceiling and put a woman at the top of the Democratic ticket and into the Presidency." Madam President now houses the former social media presences of Ready for Hillary PAC which did grassroots organizing in preparation for Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy.
Criticism
Critics would like to see EMILY's List expand its definition of "women's issues" to include economic issues like a higher minimum wage and expanded Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. Others have said that the group simply needs to focus its resources better, staying out of races where there is already an incumbent progressive Democrat and focus on other races instead. Democrat Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn Kaptur (; born June 17, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1983. A member of the Democratic Party, Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in either chamber of Congress, and the second-longest ...
criticized EMILY's List for being too narrow in focus by emphasizing abortion rights over other progressive issues, such as the minimum wage, that also affect women.[
EMILY'S List in the past has received some criticism from how much money they are accepting and where that money is going to as being a Political Action Committee or PAC. In Nick Hoffman's article EMILY's List v. FEC] he discusses EMILY's List as a non-profit that has had trouble with the Federal Election Commission or FEC. Hoffman accuses EMILY's List of arguing with the FEC over how much money should be allowed to be given to campaigns
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
*Bl ...
. EMILY's List has been criticized for pushing the allowance of no limit on how much money can be donated to campaigns.
EMILY's List has had criticism over exactly how much influence they have had in past elections. Rebecca J. Hannagan ''et al.'', article "Does an EMILY's List Endorsement Predict Electoral Success or Does EMILY Pick the Winners?" conducted research as to how much influence does EMILY's List have in a campaign. The research was set up to show exactly whether or not an endorsement got a candidate elected, did not get a candidate elected, or nothing happened. The research showed that the endorsement helped those who were mostly likely not to be endorsed, hurt candidates that people did not know whether or not they were going to be endorsed by EMILY's List, and did nothing for those who were expected to be endorsed in the first place. The article also analyzed the women's Political Action Committee that EMILY's List or "EList" has been an ally to the democratic party helping more and more democratic party candidates becoming the "grand dame" of Women's PACs.
Endorsements
Endorsed candidates
EMILY's List provides trainings, recruits women to run, and endorses and funds female political candidates. EMILY's List is listed as an “important source of candidate support,” in a 2010 article in the ''Harvard International Review''.
Presidential
During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries
From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was selected as the nominee, becoming the first African Amer ...
, EMILY's List supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and bundled $855,518 for Clinton, making the group one of the five largest donors to her 2008 campaign.[ When ]NARAL
NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, EMILY's List was strongly critical. EMILY's List President Ellen Malcolm said, “I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton - who held up the nomination of a FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
- to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them.”
After the conclusion of the Democratic presidential primary, EMILY's List moved their support to Barack Obama and was vocal in their opposition to the McCain/Palin ticket.
On April 12, 2015, EMILY's List endorsed Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
for president. The endorsement came within hours of Clinton's announcement that she had formed an exploratory committee to run for president.
In the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...
EMILY's List endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
the day before Super Tuesday.
2012
In 2012, 80% of the candidates endorsed by EMILY's List in the general election won a seat.
2014
In the 2014 election cycle, EMILY's List endorsed 24 U.S. House candidates, six U.S. Senate candidates, and six gubernatorial candidates. Of these 40 candidates endorsed by EMILY's List, 42.5% won.
2018
In the 2018 election, EMILY's List endorsed eight women in gubernatorial races, 12 for U.S. Senate, and 64 candidates for the House of Representatives.
Similar groups
Similar groups have formed along the same lines as EMILY's List, with some slight variations. The Wish List supports Republican women in favor of abortion rights. In 1994, Joan Kirner created a similar organization in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
by the name EMILY's List Australia
EMILY's List Australia is a political network in Australia that supports progressive Labor Party (ALP) women candidates seeking election to political office. Founded in 1996, EMILY's List Australia was inspired by EMILY's List, a political ac ...
.
Political activist and former school teacher Amy Laufer
Amy Laufer was the 2019 Democratic nominee in an unsuccessful bid for Virginia's 17th Senate district, which stretches from Fredericksburg to the suburbs of Charlottesville in Albemarle County, and includes all of Orange County and parts of Culpe ...
founded Virginia's List, a political group supporting Democratic women running for office in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
On the other side of the abortion debate, the Susan B. Anthony List
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...
, an anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
PAC Pac or PAC may refer to:
Military
* Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit
* Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile
* Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramili ...
, supports women who oppose abortion and is seen as the anti-abortion counterpart to EMILY's List.
Maggie's List
Maggie's List is a United States federal political action committee founded in Florida in 2010 to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office." It is named after Margaret Chase Smith ...
is a United States federal political action committee founded in Florida in 2010 to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office."
References
Further reading
* Cooperman, Rosalyn, and Melody Crowder-Meyer. "Standing on Their Shoulders: Suffragists, Women’s PACs, and Demands for Women’s Representation." ''PS: Political Science & Politics'' 53.3 (2020): 470-473.
* Crowder-Meyer, Melody, and Rosalyn Cooperman. "Can’t buy them love: How party culture among donors contributes to the party gap in women’s representation." ''Journal of Politics'' 80.4 (2018): 1211-1224.
* Manuel, Daniel. "EMILY’s List (Early Money Is Like Yeast)." in ''Women in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders'' (2018): 127+.
* Ondercin, Heather L. "Who is responsible for the gender gap? The dynamics of men’s and women’s democratic macropartisanship, 1950–2012." ''Political Research Quarterly'' 70.4 (2017): 749-761.
* Pimlott, Jamie. ''Women and the Democratic Party: The Evolution of Emily's List ''(Cambria Press; 2010) 209 pages; the history from 1985 through the 2008.
External links
EMILY's List website
PAC recipients list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emily's List
United States political action committees
Women's political advocacy groups in the United States
Feminist organizations in the United States
Organizations established in 1985
527 organizations
Abortion-rights organizations in the United States
Progressive organizations in the United States
1985 establishments in the United States