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Vote Mama Monthly Newsletter
🪺April 2024 Edition🪺
Reproductive health continues to be top of mind for us here at Vote Mama as well as for our pro-choice mom candidates. This month was National Infertility Awareness Month and also included Black Maternal Health Week. With stricter abortion bans gaining traction and new attacks on IVF this month, we amped up our efforts to support mamas running in key battleground states where our reproductive rights hang in the balance. Meanwhile, our Vote Mama alumnae are using their elected seats to introduce groundbreaking legislation to address some of our most pressing issues from gun violence to abortion.
Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to this April!
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CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHTS
Pennsylvania:
As part of our targeted state strategy, we are focused on electing pro-choice moms to win in the Pennsylvania State Senate to finally clinch a Democratic trifecta in this battleground state. Vote Mama candidate PA State Rep. Patty Kim currently serves the State House where she fights every day to pass livable wages, fully funded schools, and access to affordable health care. Now, she’s running for the Pennsylvania Senate against GOP incumbent John DiSanto. This week she officially won her primary — and her campaign is making headlines as one of the most competitive races to watch in 2024!
Michigan:
We’re so incredibly proud of Mai Xiong for her special election victory this month — winning 65% of the vote! A mother of 4 young kids and small business owner, Mai will become the first Hmong American AND first former refugee to ever serve in the Michigan House once elected. Last cycle, we proudly boasted a 100% win rate in Michigan. Our mamas helped Democrats win control of the Michigan state legislature for the first time in four decades in 2022. Now, Mai’s victory just restored Democratic majority in the Michigan House! Our Michigan mamas keep winning!
Florida:
This month, the Florida Supreme Court made some devastating rulings against reproductive justice: the state became the ONLY state with a 6-week abortion ban AND a requirement for two in-person doctor visits with NO option for telehealth. The good news is that voters can weigh in on an abortion ballot initiative this fall and we have pro-choice moms like Whitney Fox fighting against these strict bans. Whitney’s record-breaking campaign has made headlines for OUTRAISING her well-funded GOP incumbent opponent in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. Whitney has a real shot at flipping this key seat!
ALUMNAE SPOTLIGHTS
In-vitro fertilization (IVF) has become the latest target in the far-right attacks on our reproductive rights. The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling underscores the importance of protecting reproductive rights including IVF, particularly during National Infertility Month.
Black Maternal Health Week also fell this April, a time to address the disparities and inequities that lead to alarmingly disproportionate statistics like the fact that Black women are 3x more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their white counterparts. This is especially tragic when taken with the fact that over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable.
Our mamas are leading on these crucial issues, and for this month’s alumnae spotlight, we want to shout out Minnesota Senator Erin Maye Quade who is doing incredible work to champion reproductive and maternal health. Erin made history last cycle when she became one of the first Black women ever elected to the MN State Senate. Erin stepped up to run while pregnant, and she even went viral online for giving a speech while in active labor!
Now, Erin has been pushing to pass a landmark bill that would require health insurance companies to cover IVF treatment, and she’s been blocking GOP attempts to water down the legislation as she continues to fight in defense of reproductive rights for all Minnesotans. As a Black mom herself, Erin has also spearheaded efforts to reduce Black maternal mortality rates by championing equitable reproductive and maternal resources.
VOTE MAMA IN THE MEDIA
Check out this op-ed in Ms. Magazine authored by Vote Mama alumna and current candidate Congresswoman Nikema Williams! She talks about the barriers faced by mamas and caregivers when running for office, and how organizations like Vote Mama are transforming our political landscape. Nikema opens up about running for Congress during the COVID-19 lockdown when schools were closed — and she reflects on how difficult it was to be a full-time working mom, candidate for Congress, and her son Carter’s teacher. Nikema was able to overcome these challenges and was elected to serve Georgia’s 5th Congressional District and now she has introduced a groundbreaking bill called The Help America Run Act to help more everyday Americans run for office.
Our mamas are counting on you…
The first quarter of 2024 was spent investing early funding, tactical resource planning, and launching our candidate endorsements. Now, we’ve jumped right into Quarter 2 this April and are putting our strategic plans into action to help our mamas win crucial elections.
It takes a village of resources — time, money, people, materials — to run an effective and competitive campaign, especially with some of the well-funded opponents our moms are up against. And with a full slate of endorsed pro-choice moms running for office in 2024, there are A LOT of candidates depending on Vote Mama and folks like YOU to help boost their campaigns.
Our mamas need to reach voters NOW and build up a strong coalition of grassroots donors immediately if they’re going to make a lasting impact to sway voters in November. Your contribution today will go directly toward electing Vote Mama’s pro-choice Democratic moms in 2024: Will you please consider chipping in just $20.24 or any amount today to help propel our moms and their campaigns? Make an impact with your contribution now >>
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Thanks for being a critical part of this team.
- Your Friends at Team Vote Mama
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