A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT
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Greetings NWPC-VA Members,
The National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia has endorsed 29 women for the Virginia legislature; we are working hard to build our “Congress of women” who will represent the rights and needs of the people of Virginia. From Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads and Southwest Virginia, women have stepped up to run for Virginia Senate and Virginia House. Now it is our turn to step up and support these incredible women. Visit our new Endorsements page at: https://nwpc-va.webflow.io/endorsements-2023
Endorsing strong, powerful women is our “super power” at NWPC-VA. Now we must work like we have never worked before to make the promise of generational change happen in Virginia. If we want a Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment, then we are going to need to work for it starting right now.
Fifteen of these incredible women face male challengers (many better known and better funded) but not a single man has shown the willingness to stand up and fight for what women need. We needed a hero and when none appeared, we got a “shero” in those 15 districts.
How You Can Help - Write Postcards
We have partnered with postcards4va.com which will have scripts and addresses. We have designed a new set of postcards which you can order here.
How You Can Help – Make Phone Calls
We have partnered with Center for Common Ground for their phone technology. People say it’s the easiest phone bank system to learn. You call from your browser, and they offer training every Tuesday and Saturday.
How You Can Help – Send Text Messages
Again our partners at Center for Common Ground have provided Outreach Circle as a texting platform and will load cell numbers of women voters in all 29 districts of our endorsed candidates.
Visit our new Volunteer Portal and sign-up: https://nwpcva.nationbuilder.com/volunteer. Volunteer to work with us to support our endorsed candidates and when the elections are over, join us as we advocate in Richmond and DC.
We are voting for our lives and the lives of our children to make sure the best candidates are on the ballot in November. It’s time to elect more women!
Onward,
Andrea Miller
NWPC-VA President, 2023-24 |
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2023 NWPC-VA CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS |
NWPC-VA’s Endorsements Team has been hard at work evaluating candidates for our upcoming Virginia elections. We have 5 basic criteria for endorsement. The applicant must:
identify as female; support full reproductive rights, including abortion; support certification and publication of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; support legislation that provides increased access to childcare and other dependent care programs; have met all the requirements and has been declared an official candidate by the Virginia Department of Elections..
Here are our endorsed candidates for the Virginia House and Senate in the June Primary Elections. |
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We will share more about our endorsed candidates for the 2023 General Election in the coming months.
Look for opportunities for NWPC-VA members to volunteer for the campaigns as we receive information from them. For now, head to Postcards4VA and order some gorgeous postcards for your next writing party! |
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VOTE in Virginia’s Primaries With 28 members of the Virginia General Assembly having retired after redistricting and several of our fundamental rights under attack, the 2023 Primary Elections are more important than ever. In 2021, only 8% of Democrats voted in the June Primary Elections. While Republicans, focused on the gubernatorial contest, held a “disassembled convention” with only about 30,000 delegates. Let’s increase the number of us who choose our elected officials! Begin by knowing who is on your ballot by viewing the candidate lists. Get an overview on key departures from Virginia Mercury. In-person early voting at your local registrar's office begins on Friday, May 5 and ends on Saturday, June 17. Primary Election Day is Tuesday, June 20. Cast your ballot and bring a friend. |
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Stay Current on Repro Rights in Virginia This election season is one of the most crucial elections in the commonwealth in recent years. We must protect our freedom to reproductive healthcare. Find out what’s at stake at the Making Sense of the MIFE Case webinar on May 4, hosted by our partners at the Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance (VREA). Register today. |
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Mentor Future Candidates with NWPC-VA
NWPC-VA is looking for a team of mentors who are interested in building the bench with qualified women and femme-presenting candidates in Virginia. We want to ensure that candidates who are endorsed by NWPC-VA are the best in all areas because they have been given the tools and guidance from the best. Mentorship opens doors, empowers personal development, assists with gaps in skills and knowledge, increases confidence, and solidifies career goals. If you are interested in NWPC-VA's mentorship program reach out to va.nwpc.development@gmail.com. |
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In celebration of May as AAPI Month, we salute several young Asian American activists for their inspirational work fighting gun violence and advocating for Virginia’s LGBTQ+ community, including spearheading last fall’s school walkouts. Click on the links in their bios to learn more.
Nikta Sarani works with Team Enough’s Virginia Lobbying Collective to spread awareness about gun violence impacting her community and the solutions to prevent it.
Jeannie She began her advocacy in high school with Students Demand Action after her father survived the 2019 Virginia Beach mass shooting. During her gap year, she worked with Everytown for Gun Safety to improve students’ efforts in ending gun violence. She currently is an undergraduate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Laura Truong has worked with the Pride Liberation Project, a student-led grassroots coalition in Fairfax County organizing for inclusive schools, on youth organizing and policy priorities for the organization. She joined Team Enough’s Virginia Lobbying Collective to advocate for the safety of marginalized communities and her peers.
Bora Yoon is a lead organizer in the Pride Liberation Project and the founder of the Prince William chapter. She works with Team Enough’s Virginia Lobbying Collective because of the uptick in gun violence and the impact it has on youth in America. She is a member of Prince William County Public Schools’ Human Rights Student Leadership Council
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April 30, 6:00 p.m.: NWPC-VA’s Rally for Virginia: The Road to Richmond (Online) Join us in welcoming special guest Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan as we discuss the 2023 Virginia Elections and some of our endorsed candidates. Be part of the positive change we need in the commonwealth! Register here. |
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May 4, 12:00 p.m. VREA Mifepristone Webinar (Online) Join our partners at the Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance as we discuss the latest information on the judicial ban on Mifepristone, how it affects Virginians who are in need of care, and where we go from here. Register today. |
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May 5: First Day of Early Voting (In-Person) Today is the first day of in-person early voting at your local registrar's office. |
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May 7, 1:00 p.m. NWPC-VA’s How to Be a Citizen Lobbyist (Online)
There are two phases for democratic governance: elections and civic engagement. When elections are over, how do we hold the people that just got elected accountable to the people rather than their campaign donors? NWPC-VA President Andrea Miller shows us how in this important webinar. Sign up here. |
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June 9: Deadline to Apply for a Mail-In Ballot (Online/In-Person) Today is the last day to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you. Your request must be received by your local voter registration office by 5:00 p.m.
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June 17: Last Day of Early Voting (In-Person) Today is the last day of in-person early voting at your local registrar's office. |
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July 22-23: 2023 Women's Summit (In-Person)
NWPC-VA will have a table at this year's Women's Summit "All in to Win Virginia." This year the summit will take place July 22-23 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Dr, McLean, VA 22102. If you are interested in helping us share the benefits of NWPC-VA membership, please reach out to va.nwpc.development@gmail.com. For background on the summit: https://networknova.org. |
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August 10-13: 2023 NWPC Convention (In-Person, Omni Richmond Hotel)
This August, the National Women’s Political Caucus (National) will hold their annual convention in Richmond, Virginia. There will be multiple opportunities to network with members from caucuses from around the country. We will also have sessions about candidate training, as women are announcing their plans to run in record numbers, motivated by state-level and federal challenges to our hard-earned rights and a regressive SCOTUS. Join us for a preview of the targeting, social media, and new field and fundraising tactics that are giving our women candidates a head start on setting the agenda for this fall’s campaigns. Plus dynamic panels, speakers, and more! Block off the weekend, then look for registration information soon. |
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Do you want to know the latest on the status of the Equal Rights Amendment? Here are three developments to watch.
1) Senate: Cloture Vote on ERA Ratification On April 26 and 27 on the Senate floor, Senators Cardin, Murkowski and Schumer spoke on behalf of SJ Res. 4, which removes the ratification deadline in the preamble of the Equal Rights Amendment. The Senate then held a cloture vote on the resolution, which if 60 Senators vote for it, defeats the filibuster Republicans had called. There were a total of 51 votes for ending the filibuster, which included all the Democrats (even Manchin), except Feinstein who did not vote, and Senate Majority Leader Schumer. Schumer changed his vote to no so he could bring up the resolution at a later date. Three Independents and two Republicans, Senators Collins and Murkowski, voted with the Democrats. All the other Republicans voted to filibuster, except for Senator Lee of Utah, who did not vote. Our work is cut out for us for the 2024 election: we must work to unseat at least seven of the Senators who voted to defeat the ERA resolution so that they will not be able to filibuster.
2) House of Representatives: the ERA Caucus Last month Reps. McClellan and Spanberger joined 14 other members of Congress in forming the first-ever Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment, launched exactly 100 years after the ERA was first introduced in 1923. Ordinarily, the minority party is not able to bring votes to the floor but if they have 218 votes they can enact a discharge petition to bring the ERA resolution to the floor. There are currently 213 Democrats ready to do this but no Republicans. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) calls herself a feminist but has argued publicly that pay disparities are exaggerated by the “Left” . Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) is sometimes labeled moderate, but she voted against the Equality Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. In a letter to a constituent of April 27, Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) who voted for Virginia’s ratification in 2020, wrote that she is still considering how she would vote if HJ Res. 25 makes it to the floor. She stated that she believes Congress should “work to end discrimination based on sex,” but noted Justice Ginsburg’s comment on starting over from scratch.
3) The Role of the US Archivist Biden's nominee for US Archivist, Colleen Shogan, is awaiting a full vote in the Senate. A number of experts and activists have suggested that Biden should instruct the Acting Archivist, Debra Steidel Wall, to publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment. However, NWPC National’s stated position is: “After working for an ERA since the NWPC's inception in 1971, it has been hard to keep the faith these last few years as we continue to face barriers to enacting an ERA. The Archivist, or lack thereof, is just another roadblock for us to overcome. The Senate needs to confirm President's Biden's nominee so we have someone to point to when asking… after the required 38 states have passed an ERA, why has the 28th Amendment not been printed?" NWPC-VA strongly urges the Senate to confirm Ms. Shogan, so President Biden can recommend publication.
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Women CEOs Outperform Men While the majority of big companies still are led by men, recent research indicates women CEOs outperform those helmed by their male colleagues. According to Harvard Business Review, firms with more women in leadership positions tend to be more profitable, more socially responsible, and provide higher-quality customer experiences. Women also spur fundamental shifts in the top management team’s risk tolerance, openness to change, and focus on research and development. Read the full article here. |
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ARTIST FAITHE NORRELL We are so grateful to Faithe Norrell for sharing her
iconic art with us – be sure to order your GOTV postcards soon, and make sure
to keep one of these beauties for yourself! |
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