NOW/PAC Announces Feminist Races to Watch
November 6, 2000
"NOW/PAC's more than one hundred endorsements in federal races this year will help send new feminist faces to Washington and turn out anti-Bush voters to make sure ultraconservatives lose their grip on Congress and do not gain control of the White House," said Ireland.
Officers and organizers launched NOW/PAC election projects in Florida, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, Kentucky and New York. From the National Action Center in the nation's capitol, NOW/PAC ran phone banks for targeted candidates in Ohio and Washington state and dispatched volunteers to Northern Virginia. Grassroots NOW activists are working in hundreds of campaigns, large and small, in their communities across the country.
Ireland will be available for comment on the 2000 elections throughout the night of November 7 and for a feminist analysis of the results on November 8. To schedule an interview, call NOW's Media Relations Office at 202-628-8669, extension 116.
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PRESIDENTIAL BATTLEGROUND STATES
Michigan
NOW/PAC's organizers are strengthening Debbie Stabenow's challenge
for Senate and Dianne Byrum's bid to replace Stabenow in the House. Stabenow,
a strong supporter of feminist issues, would replace ultraconservative
Spencer Abraham. As a legislator, Byrum (MI-08) has been a leader on anti-stalking
and other bills to prevent violence against women.
Florida
Facing off against a longtime incumbent in the U.S. House, NOW member
Elaine Bloom (FL-22) promises to build on her record of commitment to health
care, reproductive rights, and lesbian and gay rights during 18 years in
the legislature. Ireland has joined NOW/PAC organizers in working hard
to elect Bloom and defeat Bush in his brother's backyard.
Illinois
Lauren Beth Gash (IL-10), a NOW member and leader in the Illinois legislature
for women's rights, is running for an open seat in the U.S. House.
Field workers from NOW/PAC are organizing to get out the women's vote.
Ireland and NOW Action Vice President Loretta Kane have both made trips
to the state to help build support for the Gash campaign.
Washington
Maria Cantwell is mounting a strong challenge for the U.S. Senate seat
held by Slade Gorton. Cantwell, a former member of Congress, presents a
stark contrast to the incumbent Senator on women's rights and environmental
issues. Her victory would make Washington the third state with an
all-woman senatorial delegation. NOW/PAC phone-banked for Cantwell.
Ohio
Columbus City Council member Maryellen O'Shaugnessy (OH-12) is vying
for an open seat in the U.S. House. A single mother, O'Shaugnessy is a
strong advocate for women. Her family has a history of public service in
the area. Ireland traveled to Ohio to help organize NOW members to
campaign for the former reporter.
STATES THAT CAN TIP THE BALANCE IN THE HOUSE
In addition to races in Florida, Illinois and Ohio discussed above,
the following contests could shift the majority in the U.S. House.
New Jersey
In her bid for an open House seat, NOW member Maryanne Connelly (NJ-07)
has faced misogynist challenges from her opponents. NOW/PAC organizers
have campaigned for her and U.S. Senate candidate Jon Corzine for months.
Four-term Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin (NJ-03) is a strong challenger
running with the help of NOW New Jersey activists.
Kentucky
Eleanor Jordan (KY-03) has been a champion in the Kentucky legislature
for the rights of poor women and employed women. She is a challenger
for a seat in the House and, if elected, would be the second former welfare
recipient in Congress, joining Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-CA. NOW/PAC's organizer
is working with local NOW activists in the district.
California
Jane Harman (CA-36), Gerrie Schipske (CA-38) and Susan Davis (CA-49)
are all strong women's rights supporters and challengers for U.S. House
seats. Harman seeks the seat she gave up to run for governor. Davis and
Schipske are longtime NOW members, and Schipske, former president of Long
Beach NOW, is one of few open lesbians running for Congress.
Montana
Nancy Keenan (MT-AL), running for an open House seat, would bring another
feminist advocate to Congress. A former legislator and three-term State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Keenan was the first in her family
to graduate from college, working summers in a hard, dangerous job as one
of the first female laborers in a copper smelter.
Texas
Regina Montoya Coggins (TX-05) is a feminist challenger in a generally
Democratic-performing House district deep in the heart of George W. Bush's
Texas. A former president of Girls, Inc, Coggins worked to prevent teen
pregnancy, expand science and technology programs in school and provide
leadership development training for young women.
OTHER RACES TO WATCH
New York
If she wins New York's open Senate seat, Hillary Rodham Clinton will
be the first woman Senator from the state. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's
strengths in her re-election campaign include her commitment to gun control
and preventing violence against women. NOW/PAC staff are organizing in
the state, where Ireland and Kane have both campaigned.
Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin (WI-2) is running for re-election to the U.S. House,
after her stunning victory as the first open lesbian elected to Congress
in 1998. The first woman ever elected to represent her state in Congress,
Baldwin won in 1998 with organizing help from NOW/PAC and students at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison, where her challenger is a professor.
Vermont
NOW members are working hard to elect former NOW National Board member
Judy Murphy to the state house, and to re-elect Gov. Dean and legislators
targeted by ultraconservatives for granting long-term, committed lesbian
and gay couples the opportunity to have the same benefits and responsibilities
as married couples under the civil unions law.