Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates Carolyn Bourdeaux’s Victory in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District
For Immediate Release: Friday, November 6, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Defeat of anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican candidate Rich McCormick is a win for Georgians and reproductive freedom
Georgia — On Tuesday, voters in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District elected NARAL-endorsed candidate Carolyn Bourdeaux to the U.S. House of Representatives. Her victory over anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican candidate Rich McCormick marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and flips a critical seat in the House.
In response to Bourdeaux’s victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement:
“Carolyn Bourdeaux is exactly the kind of leader we need in Congress, and NARAL Pro-Choice America and our members are proud to have mobilized to help turn out the vote and flip this critical seat in Georgia’s 7th District. It’s clear that voters firmly rejected Rich McCormick’s anti-choice, anti-freedom platform and his willingness to rubber-stamp Trump’s out-of-touch ideological agenda. We are thrilled that Carolyn will serve in the House, where we know that she will be a true champion of our fundamental rights.”
NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia Director Laura Simmons said:
“The people of Georgia’s 7th Congressional District have made their voices loud and clear: The days of being represented by anti-choice politicians pushing an extreme ideological agenda are over. Georgians are ready for leaders like Carolyn Bourdeaux, who will be a champion for reproductive freedom. Throughout her campaign, Carolyn has demonstrated that she will fight to ensure every body has the freedom to make their own decisions about if, when, and how to raise a family. NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia congratulates Carolyn on her hard-earned victory and looks forward to working with her in the Congress.”
NARAL endorsed Bourdeaux as part of its largest-ever electoral program, which reached over 3 million voters in key states—including Georgia—to win races up and down the ballot.
NARAL invested seven figures in a comprehensive program to reach hundreds of thousands of voters across Georgia. The program included 316,690 peer-to-peer texts, a robust direct mail program with candidate-specific mail pieces to reach 242,010 voters—including targeted mail in 19 state House districts—influencer amplification, digital ads generating 13,483,532 impressions, and two radio ad campaigns in partnership with Higher Heights Political Fund.
Georgia already has some of the most severe restrictions on reproductive freedom in the United States, which include bans on abortion throughout pregnancy, a forced 24-hour waiting period before somebody can receive abortion care, and mandatory biased counseling restrictions. These restrictions 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.
A new Change Research poll found that a vast majority (78%) of suburban women in Georgia oppose making abortion illegal and turning back the clock to the days before Roe vs. Wade. With Roe in the crosshairs, the stakes are high for women in Georgia, over half of whom live in counties with no abortion clinic.
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.