Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Feminists swept battleground states and districts this election night–proving just how strong #TheResistance can be.

We’re thrilled that Virginia and New Jersey will be led by Ralph Northam and Phil Murphy–candidates who will champion feminist policies as governors. Virginia voters elected progressives up and down the ballot, and we are especially proud to congratulate NOW leader Hala Ayala on her election to the Virginia House of Delegates.

Tonight’s message is clear: the time to elect feminists is NOW! NOW members and grassroots activists rolled up their sleeves, and got out the vote for the candidates who care about women’s rights–and their hard work paid off.

This is just a taste of what’s to come. We know that NOW activists will keep working hard, and keep winning–on November 6, 2018 and beyond.

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

The National Organization for Women (NOW) and the Feminist Majority are proud to endorse Ralph Northam for Governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and Mark Herring for Attorney General of Virginia. Women win with these three feminist candidates who each have proven track records of championing the issues important to women.

“The Northam-Fairfax-Herring team will guarantee that we keep women’s health clinics open in Virginia. If the Gillespie-Vogel-Adams team had their way, they would ban safe, legal abortion and close women’s health clinics,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority.

“No question, one team is a fighter for women, the other would strip away the rights of women. We must turn out the vote and protect women’s right to birth control and safe, accessible abortion,” said Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

Northam, Fairfax, and Herring will fight to expand access to abortion and affordable birth control for all women, while their opponents have vowed to ban abortion, oppose Medicaid expansion to 400,000 Virginians, and limit access to birth control. As a state senator, Northam led the fight against the cruel and invasive transvaginal ultrasound mandate, a bill that was sponsored by Fairfax’s opponent for Lieutenant Governor, Jill Vogel.

As leaders of the Commonwealth, Northam, Fairfax, and Herring will advocate for commonsense gun safety laws including background checks, an assault weapons ban, and closing the Gun Show Loophole. Meanwhile, their opponents all received A ratings from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and oppose commonsense gun reform.

Northam, Fairfax, and Herring are committed to making Virginia public colleges more affordable and will fight to reduce the burden of oppressive student loan debt. But their opponents want to drain public school funding, prevent DREAMers from accessing educational opportunities, and increase student loan interest rates.

From environmental justice, to LGBT equality, to ending sexual violence, the Northam-Fairfax-Herring ticket is clearly the key to moving Virginia women forward. Vote on November 7 for the team that champions women.

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Doug Jones, Democratic candidate in the Alabama special election, has the power to curb the misogyny plaguing women across the country. Alabama women have the power send him to the U.S. Senate.

As a U.S. Attorney, Jones took action to put violent anti-choicers behind bars. He spearheaded the prosecution of Eric Rudolph–who bombed the New Woman All Women Health Care Center in Birmingham, and later admitted to bombing an additional abortion clinic and an Atlanta lesbian bar. “I was having breakfast just blocks away and ran to the scene,” Jones remembers. “The image of a bombed building and body of a police officer will remain with me for the rest of my life.”

Speaking to Chuck Todd on MSNBC in late September, Jones delivered his full and unconditional support for reproductive choice: “I am a firm believer that a woman should have the freedom to choose what happens to her own body and I will stand up for that and make sure that continues to happen,” Jones said. “I want to make sure that as we go forward people have access to contraception and access to the abortion that they might need if that’s what they choose to do.”

Jones was also taken action to convict violent white supremacists–successfully convicting Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry for murder 40 years after the church bombing in Birmingham that killed four young African American girls and galvanized the civil rights movement.

Jones stands in sharp contrast to opponent, Roy Moore, who has alienated even steadfast Republicans with statements revealing his misogynistic, homophobic, and hateful beliefs. Jones says: “America is a nation of laws, justice, equality and opportunity, and we must push back against those who threaten those fundamental American values.”

I agree, and so do Alabama’s women. Tai Hicks, president of Greater Birmingham NOW says: “Women, people of color and members of the LGBTIA community would sleep better at night knowing that Jones, not Moore is in the Senate. Alabamians have worked so hard to make life better for all her citizens; we cannot afford to go backward.”

Women across the U.S. are looking to the women of Alabama to show up to the polls on December 12. We’re calling on Alabama feminists to get out and vote for Doug Jones!

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241