Statement of NOW President Terry O’Neill on the 2014 Congressional Elections

Washington, D.C. – Today, in the wake of aggressive voter suppression tactics and expenditures of hundreds of millions of dollars, women’s rights supporters lost their majority in the U.S. Senate. Without doubt, the prospect of Sen. Mitch McConnell as majority leader is chilling to anyone who cares about women’s economic security and access to reproductive health care.

Republicans did all they could to soften their anti-woman image with slick ads and rehearsed talking points. Now the question is whether the GOP will enact policies women voters actually want: elimination of the gender wage gap, a higher minimum wage, a guarantee that all women have access to safe, affordable, medically appropriate birth control and abortion care, an end to voter suppression, and comprehensive immigration reform that treats immigrant women fairly. Or will they pursue the Tea Party’s extremist agenda of harsh abortion restrictions, further cuts in the social safety net, and generous tax breaks for the one percent?

NOW’s activists around the country will be watching the actions of elected officials–at the local, state and national levels–and holding them accountable for what they do, not just what they say.

 

Contact: Elise Coletta, elise@now.org, (951) 547-1241