NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Strongly Backed Northam, Were One of First Groups to Endorse His Campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2017
[email protected]
Alexandria, Va. – Tonight, NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia congratulated Lt. Governor Ralph Northam on his win in the Democratic primary for governor of Virginia.
“Virginia voters have delivered a strong message in support of women, families, and our shared progressive values. NARAL members have been proud to stand with Ralph’s campaign since the very beginning. Both candidates in this race ran campaigns with a strong commitment to defending our reproductive freedom and harnessed the fresh perspectives and deep enthusiasm that are fueling Democratic candidates across the nation,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “The choice now before Virginia voters couldn’t be more stark. Ralph Northam is a proven champion for women and families while the Republicans are set to nominate one of the most radical anti-choice voices in the entire nation. The GOP-Trump agenda is completely out-of-touch with the 7 in 10 Americans who think abortion should be legal and accessible. That’s why NARAL’s 1.2 million member-activists are proud to stand with Ralph Northam as he continues his campaign for Virginia families.”
“I am so proud to congratulate Dr. Ralph Northam on his primary win tonight,” said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. “Ralph is the principled, progressive champion that we need fighting for health and reproductive rights here in the Commonwealth. Our reproductive rights and freedoms are under attack every day from Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and extreme anti-choice legislators right here in the Commonwealth. But Ralph has never backed down from a tough fight during his ten years in public office, and we know he’ll continue to be a brick wall for Virginia women and families in the Governor’s Mansion.”
“Virginians don’t want an extreme, anti-choice conservative making decisions about their personal health care decisions and undoing all of the progress we’ve made over the last four years here in the Commonwealth,” continued Keene. “We will not go backwards. NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is prepared to mobilize the full force of our grassroots community to elect Ralph Northam as Virginia’s next governor on November 7th.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC joined together to endorse Northam on March 13th and was proud to encourage our members, activists, and pro-choice voters to support his candidacy. Throughout the primary, NARAL worked with our partners to make protecting reproductive rights a key issue in this election and to mobilize pro-choice voters. In key districts and throughout the Commonwealth, NARAL knocked on thousands of doors, made thousands of phone calls, and ran a targeted mail program to target pro-choice primary voters to remind them of the importance of this year’s election.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”
###