Clinton Campaign Launches “Women for Hillary” Effort
National Grassroots Campaign Will Use Web to Mobilize Women
Hillary Clinton is launching a major grassroots effort to mobilize women on behalf of her historic candidacy today, speaking to the nation’s largest political action network as her campaign embarks upon a series of initiatives aimed at reaching women voters.
“I’m asking mothers and daughters across the country to join us in this groundbreaking effort because this campaign is about restoring the promise of America and ensuring that that there are no limits on how far our young people can go,” Clinton said. “I hope you will join me in this campaign, because together we will bring the leadership America needs to the White House.”
Women are the “X factor” in this upcoming election—more than 54% of general election voters will be women. And Hillary has already proven hugely popular among women, winning 73% of the women’s vote in her landslide re-election to the Senate last fall.
In an afternoon speech to EMILY’s List, Hillary will pay tribute to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and announce that she is reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, a measure that would ensure that women are paid the same as men who do equal work. She details the bill in a new “HillCast” on her web site. EMILY’s List has already endorsed Hillary’s campaign, and is mobilizing its activists and donors to propel her to the presidency.
The Women for Hillary program will also include a massive Internet outreach effort, focused on inviting women to join its Women Leaders Network and to organize local events with Hillary supporters. A key piece of that program will be a web campaign called “I Can Be President” that will go online this month and enable women across the country to express their support for Hillary’s candidacy. The campaign is also hosting an “I Can Be President” poster contest for young people.
Women who have risen to the highest levels in their fields will also play an active role in Women for Hillary. Those participating in events and reaching out to voters include the first woman Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman Vice Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro, tennis great Billie Jean King, former head of the Small Business Administration Aida Alvarez, former President of the American Bar Association Martha Barnett, former CEO of the Discovery Channel, Judith McHale and several women Members of Congress.
Finally, the campaign will place online ads on popular networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook to encourage women to get involved and help build a network of women leaders who can organize in peer groups, such as women doctors and young women.
