Planned Parenthood Action Fund Endorses 89 Candidates Deeply Committed to Protecting Safe, Legal Abortion
For Immediate Release: Oct. 10, 2019
WASHINGTON — In its largest-ever single wave of endorsements, Planned Parenthood Action Fund today endorsed 89 candidates in 2020 House and Senate races who are committed to protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights across the country.
As part of this wave of endorsements, Planned Parenthood Action Fund is prioritizing “red-to-pink” races where candidates can flip the seat, including Mark Kelly (AZ-Sen), Hiral Tipirneni (AZ-06), Ammar Campa-Najjar (CA-50), Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (IL-13), Wendy Davis (TX-21), and Gina Ortiz Jones (TX-23). Endorsed candidates for the Senate include challenger Mark Kelly (AZ) and Tina Smith (MN), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), and Gary Peters (MI) for reelection. Full list and map of of endorsements is linked here.
While historic, this announcement marks only the beginning of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s endorsements in 2020 federal electoral races — with many more to come.
Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, Acting President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“In 2018, the American people sent more women, and women of color, to Congress than ever before. We also took back the House with a mandate to fight for sexual and reproductive health care. In 2020, we have the opportunity to flip the Senate and strengthen our House majority, ensuring we have a Congress that will protect people’s health and rights.
“Providing health care is meaningless if people cannot access it. The Trump administration and Republican leadership’s attacks against our health and rights have been relentless. People won’t take these attacks anymore — and they’re looking to make their voices heard at the ballot box. We’re proud to stand with these champions as they fight to protect access to sexual and reproductive health care across the country. The moment is now, the power is ours, and we know we can win in 2020.”
This announcement comes a day after Planned Parenthood Votes separately announced it was launching its largest-ever electoral program for the 2020 cycle.
Since day one, the Republican leadership in Congress has supported the Trump administration’s efforts to put our health, rights, and freedoms at risk. This summer, the Trump administration began enforcing a gag rule to force Planned Parenthood health centers out of Title X, the nation’s program for affordable birth control and reproductive health care, putting care out of reach for millions of people struggling to make ends meet, including many communities of color and people living in rural areas. Congress has the ability to reverse the Title X gag rule — the House of Representatives has already passed protective language and people are calling on the Senate to take action and protect care for millions of people, which is why it is crucial to flip the Senate to a pro-reproductive health majority.
The administration’s attacks on birth control and more have spurred unprecedented resistance and it’s clear that access to reproductive health care — including safe, legal abortion — is a top issue heading into 2020. A record-high 77 percent of Americans say they do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and there is no state where banning abortion is popular.
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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.