SBA List Claims Major Pro-life Women Election Gains, EMILY’S List Defeats in Midterms

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Susan B. Anthony List announced several major victories in its efforts to elect pro-life women candidates and to defeat pro-abortion women candidates to Congress and statewide office.  (A running tally of pro-life woman candidate victories and pro-abortion woman candidate defeats can be viewed here.)

“This shift in numbers from pro-abortion to pro-life women is historic and no accident,” SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said.  “It is a corrective moment for the women’s movement which must either drop abortion out of its center or risk dropping off the face of the earth.”

During the 2010 election cycle, the SBA List spent $2.3 million on its efforts to elect pro-life women to Congressional and statewide office.  With several races yet to be called, the SBA List determined the following about its impact in the 2010 elections:

  • Overall, the SBA List endorsed 48 candidates in general election races involving women.  Among those, 34 SBA List-endorsed candidates won and, among those, 23 are pro-life women victories and 11 are pro-abortion women defeats. 
  • In SBA List-versus-EMILY’s List head-to-head races, SBA List candidates won 91 percent of the time.  Overall, EMILY’s List had a 38 percent success rate among its endorsed candidates.
  • The percentage of women in the House of Representatives who are pro-life increased by 60 percent while the percentage of women who are pro-choice decreased by 16 percent. 
  • In the U.S. Senate, SBA List-endorsed Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) fills the void of pro-life women Senators, while John Boozman’s defeat of Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln replaces one pro-choice woman Senator.  Pro-life Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) successfully defended his seat against a pro-abortion woman challenger and pro-life candidate Roy Blunt (R-MO) successfully defeated EMILY’s List favorite Robin Carnahan in the Missouri U.S. Senate race. 
  • With sweeping victories among its four endorsed pro-life women gubernatorial candidates – Jan Brewer (R-AZ), Susana Martinez (R-NM), Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Mary Fallin (R-OK) – the SBA List increased the number of pro-life women governors from one to four, making four out of six women Governors pro-life. 
  • The SBA List added four endorsed pro-life women to statewide offices across the country: Kay Ivey (AL-Lt. Gov), Kim Reynolds (IA-Lt. Gov.), Pam Bondi (FL-Att. Gen.) and Beth Chapman (AL-Sec. of State).

The Susan B. Anthony List spent $11 million during the 2010 midterm elections, including: $3.4 million on its “Votes Have Consequences” project targeting self-described “pro-life” Democrats who voted for abortion funding in the health care bill; $2.3 million on its efforts to elect pro-life women to the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and Statewide Office; and $1.4 million spent defeating pro-abortion incumbents and protecting pro-life leaders. SBA List members across the country bundled over $600,000 in direct contributions to candidates. Overall, the SBA List was involved in 90 races.  

For further information, please contact Kerry Brown at (703) 470-1926 or [email protected].  

 

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