Election 2010 by Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Election 2010

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Activists

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND

ELECTIONS MATTER

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is the powerful advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. To advance women’s health and protect women’s rights, the Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including legislative advocacy, voter education, and grassroots organizing.

2008 Election Victories

2010 Election Challenges

In the 2008 elections, the Action Fund targeted one million pro-choice voters—independent women whose votes were decisive in determining the outcome of the elections.

The Action Fund is now engaged in an election cycle in which there are many pro-choice members of Congress who are retiring, several pro-choice champions who have been targeted for defeat, and numerous open governors’ seats.

Elected: Pro-choice President 8 new pro-choice U.S. Senators 26 new pro-choice members of the House of Representatives

7 pro-choice retirements 58 total open seats 33 vulnerable pro-choice champion incumbents running for reelection 37 governors’ seats

New Jersey: How One Election Put Thousands of Women at Risk Former Gov. Jon Corzine (D) increased family planning funding in New Jersey by $2 million, providing more women access to affordable birth control. Elected in 2009, Gov. Chris Christie (R) eliminated $7.5 million for family planning, threatening to leave 136,000 women and families without family planning services, and endangering the survival of Planned Parenthood health centers and other providers. One state election can make all the difference, and we are fighting against these backward policies.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND

making health care work for women 2009 Health Care Reform Victories The Planned Parenthood Action Fund fought to ensure that the health care reform bill would provide preventive health care for women at no cost, end gender discrimination and exclusion for pre-existing conditions by insurers, and expand insurance coverage to millions of women. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund organized the nationwide Stop Stupak campaign that ultimately kept the Stupak abortion ban out of the historic health care reform legislation. To make these things happen, the Action Fund generated more than 80,000 phone calls and letters and hundreds of in-person meetings with members of Congress.

Battle Plans for 2010 The Action Fund will take the battle to the states, where decisions about women’s access to health care will be determined. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund will fight to ensure that the new state health exchanges protect and expand women’s access to vital services such as prescription birth control and lifesaving cancer screenings. The Action Fund will focus on races for governors’ seats and state legislatures, which are key to determining local laws. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund will support campaigns against abortion bans at the state level.

“ When we were fighting for women’s health care against anti-abortion opponents and in the face of cynics who believed it could not be done, we were fortunate to have Planned Parenthood’s army of volunteers and activists at our back. We could not have won without them.” –Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND

mobilizing women voters Women voters are the key to returning pro-choice champions to Congress, and they make the critical difference in all close races. The Action Fund is one of the largest and most effective mobilizers of women voters in America. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund can mobilize women voters because women trust and know Planned Parenthood. In fact, one in four American women has chosen Planned Parenthood for health care at least once in her life. We also have an unmatched ability to reach the very women who listen to us. Using sophisticated technology, models, and databases, we identify the voters most likely to care about women’s health, trust our endorsements, and take action. No other women’s organization can target and motivate women voters as effectively as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. In 2008, there was a seven-point gender gap between men and women who voted for the winning presidential candidate, with women’s support for Senator Obama outstripping that of men. A key mobilizer of women voters, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund: • Sent 3.8 million direct-mail pieces to pro-choice voters • Knocked on 120,000 doors • Made 1.25 million phone calls • Deployed thousands of trained volunteers across the country

“ I was very honored in my campaign for Governor to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. I wore it as a badge of honor. It meant that we were really joining hands with a strong team.” –Governor Jim Doyle (D-WI)

POLL IN 2008, WOMEN VOTERS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES... ...VIEWED PLANNED PARENTHOOD POSITIVELY In a poll of 1,200 likely women voters in 16 likely battleground states, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) viewed Planned Parenthood positively.

...SAID THEY TRUST PLANNED PARENTHOOD AS AN ADVOCATE In these states, 51 percent of women voters trust Planned Parenthood when it speaks out about issues affecting the health of women and teens.

FEELINGS TOWARD SELECTED ORGANIZATIONS n VIEWED POSITIVELY BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA YWCA PLANNED PARENTHOOD DEMOCRATIC PARTY NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE REPUBLICAN PARTY WOMEN’S VOICES, WOMEN VOTE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION

*HART RESEARCH FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND

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The 2010 Election Landscape To preserve and protect women’s rights and access to health care, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund scans the electoral landscape and determines where it can make a real difference for women by investing dollars and other resources in races that it can—and must—influence. ohio Key Governor Race: Gov. Ted Strickland Key Senate Race: Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher Key House Races: Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy Rep. Betty Sutton

colorado Key Governor Race: Mayor John Hickenlooper Key Senate Race: Sen. Michael Bennet Key Ballot Initiative: Amendment 62 (Personhood)

M issouri Key Senate Race: Sec. of State Robin Carnahan

n States with ballot initiatives or key races

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND

We Will Not Rest in 2010 Turning Out Pro-Choice Voters

How You Can Help

In 2010, the Action Fund will raise and spend $6 million on a range of advocacy, education, and political activities, including mobilizing Planned Parenthood voters through targeted efforts such as deploying on-the-ground campaign staff and running direct-mail, phone, e-mail, and social media campaigns. Our supporter base is 4.8 million strong and growing, and we are working to ensure that every pro-choice voice is heard in 2010.

Contact the Action Fund Planned Parenthood Action Fund 434 W 33rd Street New York, NY 10001 E-mail: ann.mcguiness@ppfa.org Phone: 212-261-4674

To achieve this, the Action Fund will use the latest statistical models and voter file data from Catalist to communicate effectively with pro-choice voters. Our volunteers will be on the phones and knocking on doors, educating and motivating targeted voters to go to the polls. And in target states, teens and college youth will be trained in Get Out the Vote activities— like phone banking and canvassing—in order to engage not only young people, but all voters in their communities. We can make a difference this November and, with the proper resources in hand, we will.

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Paid for by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Portion of map in brochure paid for by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Inc. Federal PAC, 434 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001, Treasurer: Aaron Samulcek. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. PPAF10001