Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut Announces Endorsements for the 2022 General Election

(New Haven, CT) –– Today, Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut (PPV!CT) announced the list of endorsed candidates running for state office in Connecticut for the 2022 general election. These 117 candidates (6 for constitutional offices, 28 in the Senate and 83 in the House of Representatives) support reproductive rights and will work to expand access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion, across Connecticut. 

“While anti-abortion politicians in other states have been busy robbing people of the right to control their bodies and make their own personal health decisions, here in Connecticut our elected champions have shown what it looks like to protect and expand access to abortion,” said Amanda Skinner, president & CEO of Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut.  “The U.S. Supreme Court has failed us by overturning Roe v. Wade, and people across the country feel the devastation.  The fight for reproductive freedom now rests with the states.  We need leaders who will unapologetically take bold action to defend our rights.  It is critical that we elect candidates who trust people to make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures.  Planned Parenthood patients are counting on us.”  

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade handing our power to control our own bodies to politicians.  In Connecticut the right to abortion has been protected in state law since 1990.  During the 2022 legislative session, elected leaders understood the urgency of this moment and took necessary action passing the most significant abortion rights legislation in a generation – the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act (Public Act 22-19). The new law removed medically unnecessary restrictions so that qualified, trained advanced practice clinicians can now provide aspiration abortion for their patients and includes provisions to protect the rights of all people who need access to abortion care.  It also helps shield Connecticut abortion providers and anyone forced to travel to Connecticut to access safe, legal abortion care from lawsuits and targeted attacks by politicians in other states with extreme, radical abortion bans. 

“Let’s be clear – the right to control your own body is on the ballot this November and state elections really matter,” said Danielle Eason, Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut Board Chair.   “Connecticut has a strong record on reproductive health and rights, yet we can’t take for granted the protections we have worked so hard to secure.  We must elect leaders who will keep fighting for a future with full reproductive freedom for all people.”

Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut works to defend reproductive rights and ensure equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care for all people in Connecticut who rely on Planned Parenthood. This year, in deciding to endorse candidates for the 2022 elections, PPV!CT looked at many factors, including the current political landscape in a post-Roe America, candidates’ records on issues, and legislative priorities for expanding access to sexual and reproductive health care.

Voters are energized and motivated to take control at the polls — and turn out to protect abortion rights. Nationally, nearly 80% of Americans want abortion to remain legal.  Now more than ever, our rights and access to reproductive health care, including safe, legal abortion, depend on elected leaders at ALL levels of government.  Voters are paying attention and are ready to elect candidates who will protect their health and rights this November.

 

The 2022 candidates receiving an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut: 

Connecticut Constitutional Offices:
Governor                              Ned Lamont* 
Lieutenant Governor          Susan Bysiewicz*  
Secretary of State                Stephanie Thomas 
Treasurer                               Erick Russell 
Comptroller                          Sean Scanlon 
Attorney General                 William Tong* 

Connecticut Senate:
District 3        Saud Anwar*
District 4        MD Rahman
District 5        Derek Slap * 
District 6        Rick Lopes*  
District 7        Cynthia Mangini
District 8        Paul Honig
District 9        Matt Lesser* 
District 10      Gary Winfield* 
District 11      Martin Looney* 
District 12      Christine Cohen* 
District 13      Jan Hochadel 
District 14      James Maroney* 
District 17      Jorge Cabrera* 
District 18      Heather Somers* 
District 19      Cathy Osten* 
District 20       Martha Marx 
District 23       Juliemar Ortiz  
District 24       Julie Kushner* 
District 25       Bob Duff* 
District 26       Ceci Maher 
District 28       Tim Gavin 
District 29       Mae Flexer* 
District 30       Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman 
District 31       Greg Hahn 
District 32       Jeffrey Desmarais 
District 33       Norm Needleman* 
District 35       Lisa Thomas 
District 36       Trevor Crow 

Connecticut House of Representatives: 
District 1         Matthew Ritter*  
District 2         Raghib Allie-Brennan*   
District 6         Edwin Vargas*
District 8         Mary Ann Hansen             
District 9         Jason Rojas* 
District 12       Geoffrey Luxenberg* 
District 13       Jason Doucette* 
District 14       Erica Evans 
District 16       Melissa Osborne 
District 17       Eleni Kavros DeGraw* 
District 18       Jillian Gilchrest* 
District 19       Tammy Exum* 
District 20       Kate Farrar* 
District 21       Mike Demicco* 
District 22       Rebecca Martinez 
District 23       J. Colin Heffernan 
District 27       Gary Turco* 
District 28       Amy Morrin Bello*  
District 31       Jill Barry*  
District 32       Rose Aletta 
District 33       Brandon Chafee* 
District 35       Christine Goupil* 
District 36       Christine Palm*  
District 37       Nick Menapace 
District 38       Nick Gauthier 
District 40       Christine Conley*  
District 41       Aundré Bumgardner 
District 42       Keith Denning 
District 43       Ashley Gillece  
District 44       David Randall 
District 46       Derrell Wilson 
District 47       David Nowakowski 
District 49       Susan Johnson* 
District 50       Pat Boyd* 
District 52       Gregg Dafoe 
District 53       Kenneth Trice  
District 54       Gregory Haddad*  
District 56       Kevin Brown 
District 59       Matthew Despard 
District 60       Jane Garibay* 
District 61       Jim Irwin 
District 64       Maria Horn* 
District 67       Alexandra Thomas 
District 70       Jeff Litke 
District 77       Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller 
District 82       Michael Quinn* 
District 83       Jonathan (Jack) Fazzino
District 84       Hilda Santiago* 
District 85       Mary Mushinsky*  
District 88       Josh Elliott* 
District 90       Rebecca Hyland 
District 92       Patricia Dillon* 
District 96       Roland Lemar* 
District 98       Moira Rader  
District 100     Quentin “Q” Williams* 
District 101     John-Michael Parker* 
District 102     Robin Comey* 
District 103     Liz Linehan*  
District 107     Phoebe Holmes       
District 109     Farley Santos 
District 110     Bob Godfrey* 
District 111     Aimee Berger-Girvalo* 
District 114     Mary Welander*         
District 118     Frank Smith* 
District 119     Mike Smith 
District 120     Phillip Young* 
District 123     Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox 
District 132     Jennifer Leeper* 
District 133     Cristin McCarthy Vahey* 
District 134     Sarah Keitt 
District 135     Anne Hughes*  
District 136     Jonathan Steinberg* 
District 137     Kadeem Roberts 
District 138     Kenneth Gucker* 
District 139     Kevin Ryan* 
District 142     Lucia "Lucy" Dathan* 
District 143     Dominique Johnson 
District 144     Hubert Delany* 
District 145     Corey Paris* 
District 147     Matthew Blumenthal* 
District 149     Rachel Khanna 
District 150     Stephen Meskers* 
District 151     Hector Arzeno 

Note: * indicates incumbent