Meet Women Stepping Up to Make History: Vote Run Lead Action Launches ‘2024 Women to Watch’ Voter Guide
04 Octubre 2024 - 8:20AM
The future of our country is being shaped right now — especially in
the statehouses. Although the race at the top of the ballot is
historic, it is state legislators who are making the most critical
decisions affecting women’s rights, healthcare, education and daily
life.
Vote Run Lead Action, the nonprofit
demanding a truly reflective democracy with women and
gender-expansive individuals holding at least 51% of U.S.
legislative seats, has launched its “
2024 Women to Watch”
voter guide to highlight barrier-breaking women and
gender-expansive trailblazers running for office. This guide
spotlights hundreds of candidates across the country, with special
focus on the nine key states which Vote Run Lead Action believes
are at pivotal inflection points for progress: Arizona, Colorado,
Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and
Washington.
“These leaders aren’t just running for office — they are driving
real change in our communities,” said Erin
Vilardi, CEO and founder of Vote Run Lead Action. “With
Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, this election has more
excitement around women candidates than ever before. This guide
illustrates that even with the excitement at the top of the ticket,
there are other fantastic women running all the way down the
ballot. It is critical to vote for them not just for the importance
of achieving 51% representation, but for the positive change they
will bring to communities.”
Women are 51% of the population, and they should be at least 51%
of our leaders. Only Nevada currently has a women’s majority in the
state legislature, but other states, including New Mexico and
Arizona are close. The time is right to have more women taking
leadership roles in government and Vote Run Lead Action believes
this is the year to do it.
The Vote Run Lead Action “Women to Watch” guide highlights
candidates running right now for state legislature seats and other
offices, and includes information on whether candidates are
incumbents, challengers, or running for open seats. Some standouts
include:
Mai Xiong (Michigan House District 13): Xiong
was born in a Thai refugee camp and immigrated to the U.S. at age
three. A small business owner, she advocates for living wages and
investing in public schools and she champions community empowerment
and inclusive leadership. She was also the first Asian American and
former refugee on the Macomb (MI) County Board of
Commissioners.
Anna Thomas (Pennsylvania House District 137):
Thomas grew up knowing the value of giving service to others and
giving back to the community. She believes in protecting abortion
access and family planning freedom, smart growth, quality public
education, and increasing affordability in all aspects of life.
Thomas has a proven track record of tackling complex community
needs and putting people over party.
Allie Phillips (Tennessee House District 75):
Phillips experienced having her life put at risk when she was
denied a medically necessary abortion. That experience inspired her
to run for office and be an agent for change. She is committed to
fighting for basic healthcare for all, for a safe and quality
education for children and for LGBTQIA+ rights. Phillips is a firm
believer in reproductive rights, paid leave and raising the minimum
wage.
Imani Barnes (Georgia House District 86): As a
lifelong DeKalb County (GA) resident and mother, Barnes is a public
health doctoral candidate and biomedical researcher. She advocates
for inclusive leadership reflecting her community’s diverse needs
and is focused on improving public education, expanding healthcare
access and addressing affordable housing. She fights for
progressive policies to protect Georgia’s future.
“This Vote Run Lead Action voter guide also illustrates how long
it may take each state to achieve gender parity,” noted
Melissa Jackowski, regional head, West, for Vote
Run Lead Action. “Most of the nine states in our RUN/51 program
could reach a women’s majority within 10 years, but states
including Georgia, Indiana and South Carolina could take decades at
their current pace. That is why our work is so critical now — and
we’re seeing incredible results! Vote Run Lead Action has 535
members of our national community advancing to ballots in November
after seeing an overall primary win rate of 82%. In our nine
priority states, Vote Run Lead Action affiliated candidates running
for re-election had a primary win rate of 99% and Vote Run Lead
Action affiliated challenger candidates had a primary win rate of
78%. Together, we can make a women’s majority reality.”
To access the Vote Run Lead Action “2024 Women to Watch” voter
guide, visit voterunleadaction.org.
About Vote Run Lead Action
Vote Run Lead Action is committed to ideals of democracy,
anti-racism and intersectional feminism. Vote Run Lead Action
envisions a future where women and gender-expansive individuals
hold the majority of U.S. legislative seats. In pursuit of
achieving reflective and equitable gender parity, Vote Run Lead
Action leverages all available resources for deep structural
change. Vote Run Lead Action’s sister organization, Vote Run Lead,
has reached more than 55,000 with its political training and
education programming since its founding in 2014. Vote Run Lead and
Vote Run Lead Action aim to unleash the power of women as voters,
candidates, campaign managers and political leaders. To learn more,
donate, or get involved, visit voterunleadaction.org or
vrlhq.org.
- Vote Run Lead Action Women to Watch Voter Guide
Jenifer Howard
Vote Run Lead Action
203-273-4246
jenifer_ic@voterunleadaction.org