Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates Rep. Mike Levin’s Victory in California’s 49th Congressional District
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 4, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Defeat of anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican candidate Brian Maryott is a win for Californians and reproductive freedom
California — Yesterday, voters in California’s 49th Congressional District reelected NARAL-endorsed Rep. Mike Levin to the U.S. House of Representatives. His victory over anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican Brian Maryott marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and protects a critical seat in the House.
In response to Levin’s victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement:
“We know that Rep. Mike Levin will continue to be a fierce defender of our fundamental rights in the House of Representatives—and we need elected officials like him now more than ever. We are proud to have endorsed Rep. Levin, a proven champion for reproductive freedom, and congratulate him on winning this critical race.”
NARAL Pro-Choice California Director Shannon Olivieri Hovis said:
“If this race has made one thing clear, it’s that Brian Maryott does not represent the values of the people in California’s 49th Congressional District, who deserve a leader who will fight for their fundamental freedoms. NARAL Pro-Choice California and our 295,000 members across the state were proud to support Rep. Mike Levin—a proven champion for reproductive freedom—in his campaign and we congratulate him on his well-earned reelection.”
NARAL’s electoral program in California focused on protecting the House seats the organization helped to flip in 2018, which contributed to securing the nation’s first-ever Congressional majority in support of reproductive freedom.
NARAL’s investment in California included holding more than 40 voter contact events activating more than 300 volunteers who made over 10,000 calls, sent nearly 20,000 postcards, and 300,000 texts in support of NARAL-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot.
NARAL Pro-Choice California’s seven action councils located in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, the Inland Empire, Glendale, Antelope Valley, and Bay Area played a major role in NARAL’s organizing activities, including hosting phonebanks and textbanks. NARAL partnered with Courage California, Black Women for Wellness Action Project, and California League of Conservation Voters to lead the We Woke We Vote voter education series.
Key to NARAL’s strategy was reaching, persuading, and mobilizing key voter segments including low-propensity voters and soft-partisan persuadable voters who are motivated by Trump and Republicans’ commitment to ending Roe v. Wade, criminalizing abortion, and punishing women.
Despite California being a leader on reproductive freedom and healthcare innovation, 40% of counties do not have an abortion provider and nine counties do not have a single OB-GYN. These types of barriers to care disproportionately harm BIPOC, low-income, and rural communities, and are part of a coordinated effort by the Radical Right to maintain white patriarchal control at all costs.
Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.