June is a crucial month for women on the campaign trail. In tomorrow's primary, WCF endorsed candidates Krystal Ball, Roxanne Conlin, Karen Bass, and Beth Krom will fight for more women in Congress, as will many others at the state and local level.
On June 22, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall will face a run-off for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina. And I'm proud to say that WCF will be with her on the ground in these last days.
WCF is sending a full-time representative to work in North Carolina for Elaine Marshall's Campaign. Mary Schilling, a former WCF Fellow, arrives today to help Get Out The Vote, recruit volunteers, and manage phone banks across the state.
We've chosen to support Marshall's campaign because her candidacy has, from the beginning, represented the core ideals of WCF. As a non-partisan, non-establishment organization dedicated to getting women involved in politics, we are focused on the quality of the woman running, and not who the party leadership has decided is the most likely to win the race.
For 36 years, we have stuck to this principle--and the results in North Carolina's recent democratic primary proved that top-down, partisan politics isn't always right.
Winning almost 37% of the vote, Marshall was the top vote-getter, confounding party assumptions about her viability as a candidate. Since her primary, Marshall has received endorsements from a former opponent and retired Congresswoman Eva Clayton. Clearly, Elaine Marshall has the local expertise and personal willpower to fight for North Carolina, and American women, in the U.S. Senate.
Indeed, Marshall has already proven her mettle as North Carolina's Secretary of State, leading the charge against Wall Street corruption and helping to return $340 million to North Carolinians. She was also recognized by the National Federation of Democratic Women as their 'Outstanding Democratic Woman Elected Official' for 2010. This is the type of leadership and consistent support for progressive values that led WCF to support Marshall from the beginning of her political career, especially when establishment organizations were unwilling to listen.
We're excited to continue that support from Washington and on the ground in North Carolina. We'll be there when Marshall competes in the June 22 runoff, for the general election in November, and for the rest of her life in public office.