EMILY's List


EMILY's List is an American political action committee that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985.
The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast", Malcolm commenting 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, 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. Founding members included Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala. In 1986, early financial support from EMILY's List helped elect Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right.
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 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.
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 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

took over as President of EMILY's List in 2010. Amy Dacey was the executive director of EMILY's List from 2010 through 2013.
The organization's board of directors includes Ellen Malcolm, Stephanie Schriock, Joanne Howes, Ranny Cooper, Diana Bell, Mary Beth Cahill, Judith-Ann Corrente, Shefali Razdan Duggal, Ted Gavin, Wendy Greuel, Rebecca Haile, Nikki Heidepriem, Judith Lichtman, Debra L. Ness, and Laura Ricketts.

Programs

The Political Opportunity Program 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

, Cenk Uygur, claims that EMILY's list is a hypocritical financial vehicle for Centrist Democrats to support non-progressive candidates in primary elections - even going so far as to initially support pro-life Dan Lipinski over Marie Newman who favors abortion rights. 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. 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 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. 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 also 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.
Candidates endorsed by EMILY's List include:
CandidateNotable ForStatePosition
Tammy DuckworthFirst female amputee elected to CongressILCongresswoman then Senator
Tammy BaldwinFirst openly gay woman in CongressWICongresswoman then Senator
Kamala HarrisFirst Jamaican-American, South Asian, and woman to serve as California's Attorney GeneralCASenator
Pramila JayapalFirst Indian-American woman elected to CongressWACongresswoman
Catherine Cortez MastoFirst Latina elected to US SenateNVSenator
Hillary ClintonFirst female Democratic Party NomineeNYPresidential Candidate
Ilhan OmarFirst Somali-American politicianMNCongresswoman
Deb Haaland and Sharice DavidsFirst Native American women elected to CongressNM and KS, respectivelyCongresswomen

Presidential

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, EMILY's List supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama and bundled $855,518 for Clinton, making the group one of the five largest donors to her 2008 campaign. When NARAL 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 - 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 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 EMILY's List endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren the day before Super Tuesday.

2012

In 2012, 80% of the candidates endorsed by EMILY's List in the general election won a seat.
CandidateRaceOutcome
Claire McCaskillUnited States Senate election in Missouri, 2012Win
Elizabeth WarrenUnited States Senate election in Massachusetts, 2012Win
Tammy BaldwinUnited States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2012Win
Shelley BerkleyUnited States Senate election in Nevada, 2012Loss
Mazie HironoUnited States Senate election in Hawaii, 2012Win
Amy KlobucharUnited States Senate election in Minnesota, 2012Win
Ann KirkpatrickArizona's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Ann McLane KusterNew Hampshire's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Betty SuttonOhio's 16th Congressional DistrictLoss
Carol Shea-PorterNew Hampshire's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Cheri BustosIllinois' 17th Congressional DistrictWin
Christie VilsackIowa's 4th Congressional DistrictLoss
Debbie StabenowUnited States Senate election in Michigan, 2012Win
Dianne FeinsteinUnited States Senate election in California, 2012Win
Dina TitusNevada's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Erin BilbrayNevada's 3rd Congressional DistrictLoss
Elizabeth EstyConnecticut's 5th Congressional DistrictWin
Grace MengNew York's 6th Congressional DistrictWin
Joyce BeattyOhio's 3rd Congressional DistrictWin
Julia BrownleyCalifornia's 26th Congressional DistrictWin
Kathy BoockvarPennsylvania's 8th Congressional DistrictLoss
Kathy HochulNew York's 27th Congressional DistrictLoss
Kirsten GillibrandUnited States Senate election in New York, 2012Win
Kyrsten SinemaArizona's 9th Congressional DistrictWin
Lois CappsCalifornia's 24th Congressional DistrictWin
Lois FrankelFlorida's 22nd Congressional DistrictWin
Louise SlaughterNew York's 25th Congressional DistrictWin
Maggie HassanNew Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2012Win
Maria CantwellUnited States Senate election in Washington, 2012Win
Michelle Lujan GrishamNew Mexico's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Shelley AdlerNew Jersey's 3rd Congressional DistrictLoss
Suzan DelBeneWashington's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Tammy DuckworthIllinois's 8th Congressional DistrictWin
Tulsi GabbardHawaii's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Val DemingsFlorida's 10th Congressional DistrictLoss
Susan BysiewiczUnited States Senate election in Connecticut, 2012Loss
Tarryl ClarkMinnesota's 8th Congressional DistrictLoss
Suzanne BonamiciOregon's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Janice HahnCalifornia's 44th Congressional DistrictWin
Kelda Helen RoysWisconsin's 2nd Congressional DistrictLoss
Gloria Romero RosesFlorida's 26th Congressional DistrictLoss

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.
CandidateRaceOutcome
Alma AdamsNorth Carolina's 12th Congressional DistrictWin
Julia BrownleyCalifornia's 26th Congressional DistrictWin
Cheri BustosIllinois's 17th Congressional DistrictWin
Bonnie Watson ColemanNew Jersey's 12th Congressional DistrictWin
Suzan DelBeneWashington's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Debbie DingellMichigan's 12th Congressional DistrictWin
Elizabeth EstyConnecticut's 5th Congressional DistrictWin
Gwen GrahamFlorida's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Maggie HassanNew Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2014Win
Ann KirkpatrickArizona's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Annie KusterNew Hampshire's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Brenda LawrenceMichigan's 14th Congressional DistrictWin
Gina RaimondoRhode Island gubernatorial election, 2014Win
Kathleen RiceNew York's 4th Congressional DistrictWin
Jeanne ShaheenUnited States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2014Win
Kyrsten SinemaArizona's 9th Congressional DistrictWin
Norma TorresCalifornia's 35th Congressional DistrictWin
Staci AppelIowa's 3rd Congressional DistrictLoss
Erin BilbrayNevada's 3rd Congressional DistrictLoss
Ann CallisIllinois's 13th Congressional DistrictLoss
Martha RobertsonNew York's 23rd Congressional DistrictLoss
Eloise Gomez ReyesCalifornia's 31st Congressional DistrictLoss
Michelle NunnUnited States Senate election in Georgia, 2014Loss
Alison Lundergan GrimesUnited States Senate election in Kentucky, 2014Loss
Allyson SchwartzPennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014Loss
Amanda RenteriaCalifornia's 21st Congressional DistrictLoss
Natalie TennantUnited States Senate election in West Virginia, 2014Loss
Martha CoakleyMassachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014Loss
Kay HaganUnited States Senate election in North Carolina, 2014Loss
Emily Ann CainMaine's 2nd Congressional DistrictLoss
Pam ByrnesMichigan's 7th Congressional DistrictLoss
Suzanne PatrickVirginia's 2nd Congressional DistrictLoss
Mary Rose WilcoxArizona's 7th Congressional DistrictLoss
Mary BurkeWisconsin gubernatorial election, 2014Loss
Wendy DavisTexas gubernatorial election, 2014Loss

2018

In the 2018 election, EMILY's List endorsed 8 women in gubernatorial races, 12 for U.S. Senate, and 64 candidates for the House of Representatives.
CandidateRaceOutcome
Abby FinkenauerIowa's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Abigail SpanbergerVirginia's 7th Congressional DistrictWin
Amy KlobucharUnited States Senate election in Minnesota, 2018Win
Angie CraigMinnesota's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Ann KirkpatrickArizona's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Annie KusterNew Hampshire's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Ayanna PressleyMassachusetts 7th Congressional DistrictWin
Carolyn BourdeauxGeorgia's 7th Congressional DistrictLoss
Carolyn MaloneyNew York's 12th Congressional DistrictWin
Cheri BustosIllinois's 17th Congressional DistrictWin
Chrissy HoulahanPennsylvania's 6th Congressional DistrictWin
Cindy AnxeIowa's 3rd Congressional DistrictWin
Deb HaalandNew Mexico's 1st Congressional DistrictWin
Debbie Mucarsel-PowellFlorida's 26th Congressional DistrictWin
Debbie StabenowUnited States Senate election in Michigan, 2018Win
Dianne FeinsteinUnited States Senate election in California, 2018Win
Donna ShalalaFlorida's 27th Congressional DistrictWin
Elaine LuriaVirginia's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin
Elissa SlotkinMichigan's 8th Congressional DistrictWin
Elizabeth WarrenUnited States Senate election in Massachusetts, 2018Win
Gina RaimondoRhode Island gubernatorial election, 2018Win
Gretchen WhitmerMichigan gubernatorial election, 2018Win
Haley StevensMichigan's 11th Congressional DistrictWin
Ilhan OmarMinnesota's 15th Congressional DistrictWin
Jacky RosenNevada's 3rd Congressional DistrictWin
Jahana HayesConnecticut's 5th Congressional DistrictWin
Janet MillsMaine gubernatorial election, 2018Win
Jennifer WextonVirginia's 10th Congressional DistrictWin
Julia BrownleyCalifornia's 26th Congressional DistrictWin
Kate BrownOregon gubernatorial election, 2018Win
Katie HillCalifornia's 25th Congressional DistrictWin
Katie PorterCalifornia's 45th Congressional DistrictWin
Kendra HornOklahoma's 5th Congressional DistrictWin
Kim SchrierWashington's 8th Congressional DistrictWin
Kirsten GillibrandUnited States Senate election in New York, 2018Win
Krysten SinemaUnited States Senate election in Arizona, 2018Win
Laura Kelly2018 Kansas gubernatorial electionWin
Lauren UnderwoodIllinois's 14th Congressional DistrictWin
Lizzie Pannill FletcherTexas's 7th Congressional DistrictWin
Lori TrahanMassachusetts' 3rd Congressional DistrictWin
Lucy McBathGeorgia's 6th Congressional DistrictWin
Madeleine DeanPennsylvania's 4th Congressional DistrictWin
Maria CantwellUnited States Senate election in Washington, 2018Win
Mary Gay ScanlonPennsylvania's 5th Congressional DistrictWin
Mazie HironoUnited States Senate election in Hawaii, 2018Win
Michelle Lujan GrishamNew Mexico gubernatorial election, 2018Win
Mikie SherrillNew Jersey's 11th Congressional DistrictWin
Nanette BarraganCalifornia's 44th Congressional DistrictWin
Norma TorresCalifornia's 35th Congressional DistrictWin
Rashida TlaibMichigan's 13th Congressional DistrictWin
Sharice DavidsKansas' 3rd Congressional DistrictWin
Stephanie MurphyFlorida's 7th Congressional DistrictWin
Susan WildPennsylvania's 7th Congressional DistrictWin
Susie LeeNevada's 3rd Congressional DistrictWin
Sylvia GarciaTexas' 29th Congressional DistrictWin
Tammy BaldwinUnited States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2018Win
Tina SmithUnited States Senate election in Minnesota, 2018Win
Veronica EscobarTexas' 16th Congressional DistrictWin
Xochitl Torres SmallNew Mexico's 2nd Congressional DistrictWin

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 by the name EMILY's List Australia.
Political activist and former school teacher Amy Laufer founded Virginia's List, a political group supporting Democratic women running for office in Virginia.
On the other side of the abortion debate, the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion PAC, supports women who oppose abortion and is seen as the anti-abortion counterpart to EMILY'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."