(DCWatchdog.com) – Emily’s List, the political action committee whose mission is to help Democratic female candidates who support abortion rights, has withdrawn its endorsement of Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) as a result of her opposition to changing the Senate filibuster rule.
In a statement, Laphonza Butler, the new president of Emily’s List, cautioned Sinema that if she did not back efforts to change the Senate’s rules, she could “find herself standing alone in the next election.”
She continued her statements saying that the committee has “joined with many others to impress upon Sen. Sinema the importance of the pending voting rights legislation in the Senate,” adding that “So far those concerns have not been addressed.”
Butler said Emily’s List –– that lists gubernatorial and House candidates on their website for constituents to donate to –– had not “endorsed or contributed to Sen. Sinema since her election in 2018” before asserting that Sinema’s decision to “reject the voices of allies, partners and constituents” that support voting rights over “an arcane process” would result in the Senator finding “herself standing alone in the next election.”
Then reiterating her earlier statements, Butler continued, “we want to make it clear: if Sen. Sinema cannot support a path forward for the passage of this legislation, we believe she undermines the foundation of our democracy, her own path to victory and also the mission of EMILY’s List,” before claiming that the action committee would be unable to endorse her in future.
In a speech in the Senate last week, Sinema crushed Democrats’ efforts to pass election legislation that had stalled because of a lack of Republican support.
To move forward in changing the legislation, Democrats were adamant about changing the 60-vote threshold on the filibuster, but Sinema’s refusal to support their efforts makes passing their election rights legislation unlikely.
