EMILY’s List has tapped former Maine legislator Emily Caine to become the female-focused, pro-abortion rights group’s executive director in preparation for the 2018 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post.
Stephanie Schriok, EMILY’s List’s president, told the newspaper that she believes Cain will help to fulfill the group’s goal of helping to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights to a variety of public offices in the aftermath of the wins by President Trump and Republicans in Congress in 2016.
“We are empowering women from all backgrounds, particulary women of color, to be a part of making positive change in town halls and Statehouses, to the U.S. Congress and the White House,” Cain said.
{mosads}The Post noted that Cain previously served for 10 years in the Maine House and Senate, and was defeated in her bids for Congress in 2014 and 2016 by Republican rival Bruce Poliquin. She was first elected in 2008 to the state House, where she served as the youngest minority leader in Maine’s history, and helped the Democrats to win a majority in the 2010 election cycle and was elected to the state Senate in 2012, it added.
Cain said she hopes to use her experience running in historically red districts to empower other female candidates to win in similarly competitive areas.
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“My hope is I’ll have instant credibility with the candidates we talk to across the country because I’ve been there,” she told the Post. “The opportunity for us is not only to win seats that have been traditionally Democratic, but to do everything we can to meet the voters in the Trump-won districts — to connect with them, hear their stories and meet their needs.”
The previous two executive directors of EMILY’s List were Beltway insiders with campaign experience who both went on to serve as chief executive of the Democratic National Committee.