Press Release Michigan
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates John Fetterman’s Victory in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate Race
Defeat of anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican Mehmet Oz is a win for Pennsylvanians and reproductive freedom
Philadelphia, PA — Today, Pennsylvania voters elected NARAL-endorsed candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to the U.S. Senate. Fetterman’s victory over anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican Mehmet Oz marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and flips a critical Senate seat.
In response to Fetterman’s victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“When candidates are as bold and unafraid in their beliefs as voters are, they win —and John Fetterman’s big victory tonight is proof. Pennsylvanians showed up for reproductive freedom, full stop. We endorsed Senator-elect Fetterman because he stood firm in his support for reproductive freedom, just like the vast majority of Americans. We are thrilled to see him take that decisive, unapologetic attitude to DC; this country is facing a crisis of the GOP’s making, and we are counting on John Fetterman.”
John Fetterman is a leader for reproductive freedom who has vowed to work to lock the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law by voting to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. He has represented the people of Pennsylvania as lieutenant governor since 2019. Prior to being elected lieutenant governor, Fetterman was Mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2019.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—ending the constitutional right to abortion and opening the door for extremist state lawmakers to put total bans on abortion in place. This decision is already having a devastating impact throughout the country as 15 states are enforcing extreme or total bans on abortion. The people hurt most by these bans and restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing abortion care—including women; Black, Latina/x, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Indigenous people; those working to make ends meet; the LGBTQ+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; people with disabilities, and other historically oppressed communities.
NARAL endorsed Fetterman as part of its largest-ever midterm electoral program to elect candidates up and down the ballot during this critical moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. The program focuses on deep field investments in phone banking, door knocking, youth organizing, and canvassing, along with a robust communications campaign to support endorsed candidates and ballot initiatives in Pennsylvania, Georgia, California, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
NARAL’s work in Pennsylvania included:
- Knocking on over 120,000 doors, sending over 113,000 texts and making over 132,000 calls;
- Hosting 60 candidate events with local reproductive freedom champions.
Key components of our midterm campaign include:
- Harnessing the full power of our 4 million members to mobilize their communities through traditional organizing tactics. In total we knocked on over 330,000 doors, made over 641,000 calls, sent over 682,000 texts, and filled over 4,600 volunteer shifts.
- Continuing to broaden the impact of our cutting-edge research into voter sentiment on abortion, including our pioneering freedom-centered messaging, by training candidates, volunteers, and activists to speak to their communities in ways we know align with their values and move them to act on their beliefs.
- Rolling out a pilot program in Michigan with 14 organizers working on seven four-year college campuses and over 20 community college campuses to enroll voters and activate over 721 volunteers.
- Endorsing candidates in over 200 races nationwide for federal and state offices.
- NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and EMILY’s List announced a partnership in May to collectively spend a historic $150 million on the 2022 midterms to elect reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot across the country.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.