Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is womenwinning?
A: womenwinning encourages, promotes and supports pro-choice women's leadership in all political parties and levels of public office.
Q: How is womenwinning different from other organizations that support pro-choice candidates?
A: womenwinning is the only non-partisan, pro-choice women’s organization with both a State and Federal Political Action Committee (PAC) in the state of Minnesota. It raises and spends money to elect pro-choice women candidates at every level of office, from Park Board to United States Senate.
Q: Who are the candidates womenwinning is supporting in the 2010 elections?
A: 2010 is an exciting election year with a number of women running in high profile races. womenwinning is making history this year by endorsing gubernatorial candidate, Margaret Anderson Kelliher. She is the first woman to receive a major party endorsement for Governor of Minnesota. At the Federal level, womenwinning is thrilled to support State Senator Tarryl Clark in her bid for US Congress in Minnesota’s 6th District. Furthermore, it is working hard on a long list of lower profile but critically important School Board, City Council, County and legislative races. A full listing of its candidates is on its website at www.womenwinning.org/endorsements.
Q: Who are some of the high-profile women whom womenwinning has supported in the past?
A: womenwinning is proud to have a long history of support for both US Senator Amy Klobuchar and US Congresswoman Betty McCollum. It first supported Senator Klobuchar in her run for Hennepin County Attorney in 1994 and continued to support her throughout her historical bid as the first female senator from Minnesota. She currently serves as one of seventeen female senators serving in the 111th United States Congress.
womenwinning began supporting US Representative Betty McCollum in her 1992 bid for the Minnesota House of Representatives and continued its support in her Congressional bid in 2000. She became the second woman elected to Congress in Minnesota. womenwinning strongly believes that fostering women early in their political career creates a pipeline of candidates as they move from local to state to Federal office and is proud to have supported many candidates throughout their careers. In 2008 its Federal PAC endorsed Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.
Q: How do candidates get womenwinning’s support?
A: Local and legislative candidates can contact staff directly or fill out an application online at www.womenwinning.org.
Once the application is submitted, the State PAC committee screens candidates who:
- Demonstrates support for women’s issues including reproductive choice and equality for women;
- Demonstrates a willingness and ability to conduct a vigorous, well-organized campaign;
- Demonstrates interest and knowledge of a range of political, economic and social issues;
- Demonstrates evidence of a need for financial help.
The Pipeline Committee votes to approve endorsement and funding recommendations on behalf of the womenwinning Board of Directors.
Statewide and Federal candidates must contact staff for the Federal level candidate Questionnaire. Once the application is submitted, the Federal PAC committee conducts a rigorous interview process that examines the candidate’s viability, finance plan, campaign infrastructure and experience. The Federal PAC committee screens candidates who:
- Demonstrates support for women’s issues including reproductive choice and equality for women;
- Demonstrates a field plan for a vigorous, well-organized campaign;
- Demonstrates professional or legislative experience involving political, economic and social issues;
- Provides a finance plan with clear fundraising goals and benchmarks in place.
The Federal PAC makes recommendations to the womenwinning Board regarding which candidates to support and the larger womenwinning Board votes on those recommended candidates.
Q: What type of support does womenwinning provide to selected candidates?
A: womenwinning provides comprehensive resources for the candidates such as:
- Contributions of critical early money to local, state and federal candidates through both direct donations and coordinated member fundraisers;
- Ongoing fundraising training to candidates and their staff;
- Education and outreach through events, newsletters, email marketing and presentations on the importance of gender parity in government and the critical impact women make at every level of office.
Q: When was womenwinning started and how did it begin?
A: womenwinning was established in 1982 by 25 non-partisan pro-choice women who wanted to increase the number of women in public office.
Twenty eight years later, womenwinning is the largest and most influential statewide women’s PAC. Since 1982, it has given $1 million to nearly 2,000 women’s campaigns through direct contributions and support for candidate training and recruitment.
Since its inception, the percentage of women state legislators, county commissioners and mayors has doubled.
Q: How does womenwinning raise funds to support selected candidates?
A: 100 percent of its revenue comes from individual donors throughout the state of Minnesota.
Its largest fundraiser is its annual luncheon. This year is the 28th annual luncheon. Share the Torch: Generations of Women Winning will be held on Monday, June 7, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Historic Milwaukee Depot in Minneapolis, MN. The keynote speaker is with Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, author, speaker and commentator Ellen Goodman.
Q: How many women currently hold elected offices at the local and state levels in Minnesota?
A: Minnesota ranks #4 in the country among state legislatures for the proportion of women in these elected offices:
34.8% of the state legislature37.2% of School Board
27.3% of City Council
14.8% of Mayors
11.2% of County Commissioners
Q: How has the number of women in elected office in Minnesota increased since the inception of womenwinning?
Since its inception, the percentage of women state legislators, county commissioners and mayors has doubled. In 2006 it partnered with Party insiders to recruit and support pro choice women candidates and broke records for the number of pro choice women in state office.
|
Political Office |
1982 |
2010 |
|
County Commissioners |
6.3% |
11.2% |
|
Mayors |
6.9% |
14.9% |
|
City Council Members |
15.0% |
27.7% |
|
School Board Members |
24.7% |
37.2% |
|
MN House |
14.2% |
31.3% |
|
MN Senate |
13.4% |
40.3% |
|
US House |
0% |
*25% |
|
US Senate |
0% |
*50% |
*Percentage of seats in Minnesota.
Q: Why are there less women than men in public office?
A: The problem isn’t that women don’t win; the problem is that women are less likely to run. Research on women in U.S. Congress shows that women are just as likely as men to win elections; however they do not consider themselves viable candidates and are not as likely to be recruited by their parties to run.
To read more about this ground breaking research please reach the article ‘The Puzzle of Women’s Under-Representation: Why Experience and Recruitment are Particularly Important to Women Running for Federal Office’, by Kathryn Pearson Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota. From the March, 2008 volume of Jane’s Journal, womenwinning’s quarterly publication.
Q: What are womenwinning’s strategies to elect more women?
A: Its strategy is two-fold: First, womenwinning identifies pro-choice women ready to run for office today. It draws from our pool of past and present Board members and its statewide membership, as it includes women leaders in the corporate, non-profit, university and political arenas. It also identifies women at all levels of office that have a proven track record to fill the pipeline for higher office.
Second, once the candidates are identified, womenwinning helps them secure the funds they need to win their race. It endorses and provides funds at the maximum campaign finance limit; holds fundraisers with its 5000 members; and trains candidates and their staff on ways to raise the money necessary to win.
