Press Release

A leading GOP political action committee dedicated to electing Republican women endorsed their first crop of incumbents, according to a list shared exclusively with The Messenger.

Maggie’s List — named after former Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to serve in both chambers of Congress — said it is building off of its strongest election cycle since its founding in 2010. In 2022, the group notched 36 candidate victories, including 11 first-time candidates.

“Our endorsed candidates each embody our principles of fiscal conservatism, small government, and strong national security and we look forward to helping all Maggie’s List candidates succeed in both their primary and general election races,” said Maggie’s List chairman Sandra Mortham in a statement.

Tina Ramirez, a spokeswoman for Maggie’s List, told The Messenger that these early endorsements will help connect incumbent candidates to donor networks across the country to help build their campaigns ahead of the general election.

“A lot of female candidates don’t have that early support that they need, and that’s one of the biggest challenges they have running successful campaigns,” she said.

She told The Messenger that one reason for endorsing these incumbents is to push back on the narrative pushed by Democrats that the GOP does not support and promote women.

According to the Center for Women in American Politics at Rutgers University, the 118th Congress has 149 women serving, which amounts to 27 percent of all members. 124 women currently serve in the House, which is a record, while the number of women Senators is one behind the record in the upper chamber. However, women comprise 56% of all voters. Maggie’s List aims to close that gap and recruit more Republican women to run for office.

The most notable win for GOP women last year came in the form of Sen. Katie Britt’s victory. The freshman senator from Alabama, who has already been added to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s leadership team, emerged victorious in an expensive and competitive primary against two men.

Here’s the full list of endorsements.

Senate:

Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee)

Deb Fischer (Nebraska)

House:

Stephanie Bice – Oklahoma’s 5th District

Lauren Boebert – Colorado’s 3rd District

Kat Cammack – Florida’s 3rd District

Lori Chavez-DeRemer – Oregon’s 5th District

Monica De La Cruz – Texas’ 15th District

Michelle Fischbach – Minnesota’s 7th District

Virginia Foxx – North Carolina’s 5th District

Kay Granger – Texas’ 12th District

Harriet Hageman – Wyoming’s At-Large District

Ashley Hinson – Iowa’s 2nd District

Erin Houchin – Indiana’s 9th District

Jen Kiggans – Virginia’s 2nd District

Young Kim – California’s 40th District

Laurel Lee – Florida’s 15th District

Julia Letlow – Louisiana’s 5th District

Debbie Lesko – Arizona’s 8th District

Lisa McClain – Michigan’s 9th District

Cathy McMorris Rodgers – Washington’s 5th District

Carol Miller – West Virginia’s 1st District

Mary Miller – Illinois 15th District

Mariannette Miller-Meeks – Iowa’s 2nd District

Amata Radewagen – American Samoa

Maria Salazar – Florida’s 27th District

Michelle Steel – California’s 45th District

Elise Stefanik – New York’s 21st District

Claudia Tenney – New York’s 24th District

Beth Van Duyne – Texas’ 24th District

Ann Wagner – Missouri’s 2nd District

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Published: 06/15/2023

Matt Holt

Source: https://themessenger.com/politics/a-pac-dedicated-to-electing-gop-women-issues-first-wave-of-2024-endorsements-exclusive