MinnPost.com
By Joe Kimball | Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010

WomenWinning, a statewide political fundraising group dedicated to helping pro-choice women win elections, has been supporting Tarryl Clark for years — since her first run in a special election to the state Senate in 2005.

Now the group, billed as the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund, is working overtime to help Clark get elected to Congress.

And despite the difficult challenge of unseating 6th District Rep. Michele Bachmann, Sarah Taylor-Nanista, the group's executive director, thinks there's a good chance.

"Absolutely, she's got a chance," Taylor-Nanista said this week, during an interview at the WW office in a remodeled industrial building on St. Paul's University Avenue. The group is working with Sen. Amy Klobuchar — another recipient of WW assistance — to hold a fundraiser for Clark before the Nov. 2 election.

WW, founded in 1982, has helped hundreds of women run for election.

Not all of them win, of course — the group was solidly behind Margaret Anderson Kelliher's bid for governor, but she lost the DFL primary election to Mark Dayton.

On the other hand, the group has supported U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum since her first run for the North St. Paul City Council in 1986, and has seen her win four terms in the state Legislature and then five terms in Congress.

The group has endorsed and provided fundraising help to pro-choice women running for all forms of government office, from city council and county boards in Minnesota to national offices.

It even sent a check for $5,000 to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Bank snub prompted group's formation
WomenWinning was founded 28 years ago by a small group of women upset that banks required women who applied for business loans to have their husbands co-sign the loan, Taylor-Nanista said.

"They realized the long-term solution was to elect more women to public office," she said, "so they got 25 women to each contribute $1,000."

Then, as now, abortion was the litmus test: Women candidates had to be pro-choice to get the group's support. They also now encourage other stances beyond abortion funding — on issues they believe have a positive impact on women and families, including nutritional lunches and adequate child care, Taylor-Nanista said.

In the early days, virtually any woman candidate fitting that bill was endorsed and supported. In recent years, though, the group wants to be sure a candidate has a viable chance of winning before resources are expended.

And there are cases when choices have to be made between several eligible candidates: Susan Gaertner was passed over in the governor's race in favor of Kelliher, whom the WW committee thought had a better chance at winning.

And in this year's 6th District race, the group picked Clark over Dr. Maureen Reed, another DFL contender in the early going.
 
During this election cycle, WomenWinning has endorsed nearly 100 women in races throughout the state and, so far, has helped raise about $500,000 for the candidates.

The group provides some direct funding to candidates, but also organizes its members to raise funds for them. And the WW staff works with candidates to develop their own fundraising expertise.

Do men ever ask for endorsement and support?

"Men do ask for help," Taylor-Nanista said. But they don't get it.

"There are plenty of other organizations out there to help them," she said. "And looking at the numbers, they're doing just fine."

And while the group is technically nonpartisan, the pro-choice requirement has meant that the vast majority of candidates getting support are DFLers. There have been a few Republican pro-choice candidates in the past, but none are serving now.

Gender parity? Not yet
Women make up about 34 percent of the Minnesota Legislature, the group says, which is fourth highest in the country and far better than the 17 percent in Congress. (Of course, not all of those are pro-choice women, Taylor-Nanista notes.)

Women make up only 11 percent of the seats on Minnesota county boards, 37 percent of state school boards and 15 percent of the state's mayors.

"We're still not even close yet on gender parity," Taylor-Nanista said.

But it's not that women can't win, she said. It's just that not enough run.

"When women run for office, they win at the same rate as men," she said. "The challenge is, they don't run at the same rate."

So a big priority for WomenWinning is finding candidates who are ready to run and encouraging them to take the step. Sometimes, that's harder with women than with men.

"Studies show that men are much more willing to run for political office without being asked than women are," Taylor-Nanista said. Sometimes women have to be asked more than once.

"A little encouragement goes a long way. And a call from Joan Growe [former Minnesota secretary of state, and a candidate for U.S. Senate] can be a powerful thing," she said.

Heartbreaking losses
So in addition to endorsing and supporting existing candidates, WomenWinning is scouring the state to find suitable candidates for all levels of government.

"We're looking for partners in Greater Minnesota who can help us find women who are ready to run for office — women who work in universities, in nonprofits, and run businesses," she said.

"It wouldn't have been so heartbreaking when Margaret lost if we thought there was a cadre of women ready to run. We do think they're out there — we just need to figure out who they are. And sometimes we know who they are but need to get them ready."

There were encouraging signs, even in Kelliher loss.

"She made it easier for the next woman to run for governor; she had a viable campaign in a very high-profile race, so that's progress," Taylor-Nanista said.

"But like Hillary, we see there's not a long line of women ready to run for governor, or president. Who are the women getting ready for the next time? And that's a place we can make a difference," she said.

Joe Kimball reports on St. Paul City Hall, Ramsey County politics and other topics.

##

Politics in Minnesota
September 13, 2010

Ellen Anderson remembers the door she knocked on in 1992 that made her realize that her preconceptions about male voters might be somewhat inaccurate.

Anderson, a state senator from St. Paul who is seeking her sixth term this year, was running in her first election. “I was out door-knocking one day, and a guy who was a total Archie Bunker stereotype answered the door,” she recalls. “He was a real working-class guy, with a beer can in his hand.

“I gave him my whole pitch about why I was running. He looked at me skeptically, paused, and then said, ‘It’s about time we elected more women.’ I just about fell over. That’s when I realized how widespread it was - the feeling that more women should run for office.”

It was that fervent belief that led to the formation a decade earlier of womenwinning, a St. Paul-based organization that has worked since 1982 to recruit and help pro-choice women win election to offices ranging from local school boards and the state Legislature to the U.S. House and Senate.

“The political landscape has changed a lot since 1982,” says Sarah Taylor-Nanista, who has been womenwinning’s executive director since 2007. “The sheer number of women coming to us [for help] has grown, and rather than support all pro-choice women, we support those who have a strong pro-choice presence.”

In August, womenwinning announced that it had raised the most money in its 28-year history during the 2010 election cycle - more than $500,000, almost half of that just in 2010 - through contributions, candidate fundraisers and recruitment and outreach efforts.

But one of the main concerns of, and obstacles for, womenwinning remains the same: the simple fact that although more women historically show up at the polls than men - according to Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics, the number of female voters has exceeded the number of male voters in every presidential election since 1964 - the percentage of women seeking office is still disproportionately low.

In fact, Taylor-Nanista says, womenwinning has more money available than it does candidates to receive it.

“Women simply don’t see themselves as qualified,” she says. “Women with the same qualifications as men continue to perceive themselves as less qualified.”

Additionally, the major political parties recruit men at much higher levels than they do women, Taylor-Nanista says. But she says research shows that when women run for office, they win at the same rates as men.

The highest state office that a woman has achieved in Minnesota is lieutenant governor; in fact, since Marlene Johnson became the first woman to be elected to that post in 1982, every lieutenant governor in the state has been female.

(That trend will continue this year if either DFLer Mark Dayton or Republican Tom Emmer wins the governor’s race: Dayton’s running mate is Yvonne Prettner Solon, and Emmer’s is Annette Meeks. Should the Independence Party’s Tom Horner win, his running mate, Jim Mulder, will break that cycle.)

For Anderson, in her early 30s at the time and with no political experience beyond volunteering for the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, the idea of seeking political office herself was born when she saw a redistricting map in 1992. “I thought, ‘Wow, someone should run for this seat,’” she remembers. “And then I thought, ‘Maybe I should run.’”

The idea was so intimidating that she sought the counsel of the legislators in the old version of her district, Alice Hausman and John Marty. Hausman advised Anderson to seek help from the Women Candidate Development Coalition, a group that has the same goal as womenwinning: to help progressive women become involved in Minnesota government and politics.

Anderson approached that group’s founder, Shirley Nelson. “I explained who I was and what I was thinking about,” Anderson says. “I sort of expected her to say, ‘Are you sure? Maybe you ought to think about it.’”

Instead, Anderson was gobsmacked when Nelson handed her a check and said, “Here’s what you need to do next.”

“It blew me away,” Anderson says. “It boosted my confidence so much that she didn’t think this was a crazy idea. She took me seriously; she was very matter-of-fact. She said, ‘Of course you should run, and here’s what you need to do.’”

One of the candidates who enjoyed strong support this year from womenwinning was Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who earned the DFL Party’s nomination for governor but lost a primary battle to Dayton. Despite Kelliher’s narrow primary loss, Taylor-Nanista’s group considers her showing in the primary more a victory than a loss.

“If you’re outspent two to one, that’s one thing,” Taylor-Nanista says. “But if you’re outspent eight to one, to have come that close against someone named Dayton in Minnesota, and against two millionaires - that makes it easier for the next woman. I’m very proud of what we did, and what Margaret accomplished.”

##

DFL gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher today reminded members of the largest women's political action committee in Minnesota that they have a chance to make history this year.

Minnesota Public Radio

Pearson, Kathryn. "The Puzzle of Women's Under-Representation: Why Experience and Recruitment are Particularly Important to Women Running for Federal Office." Jane's Journal March (2008) 1-6. Electronic.

Download PDF

Albright, Susan. "Gloria Steinem: 'We're only halfway there'." MinnPost.com June (2009) Electronic.

Read article at MinnPost.com

Official Media Release: womenwinning Endorsed Candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher Recieves Major Party Edorsement for Governor

April 25th, 2010

After 14 hours and six ballots House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher makes history as the first woman to win major party endorsement for governor in the state of Minnesota. womenwinning: Minnesota Women’s Campaign Fund State PAC endorsed Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher in her race for Governor of Minnesota in September 2009.

Speaker Anderson Kelliher says this endorsement was an important step to earning the DFL nomination and winning in the general election in 2010.

Over the last quarter century, the percentage of women representing the citizens of Minnesota has increased from 8 percent to 28 percent of the total offices on the state level. During the same period of time the number of women elected to the US Congress has nearly quadrupled from 23 to 87. But our work is not done. We have never elected a woman as governor in the state of Minnesota.

“The womenwinning committee was very impressed with Margaret’s commitment to the issues most important to Minnesotans during these difficult economic times.  We believe Margaret to be the best candidate for the job and look forward to working with her campaign,” said womenwinning Board chair, Teresa Daly.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher is the current Minnesota Speaker of the House

##

Official Press Release: womenwinning Endorsed candidate for U.S. Congress Tarryl Clark wins decisive first ballot endorsement of DFL Party

March 27th, 2010

This weekend womenwinning endorsed candidate State Senator Tarryl Clark became the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party’s candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 6^th Congressional District, securing the endorsement in a decisive first ballot vote of the delegates at this weekend’s convention. As the Party’s endorsed candidate, Clark has the full backing of the Minnesota DFL Party and all its resources – including an army of volunteers - between now and the election.

“Washington isn’t working for Minnesota families, and neither is Michele Bachmann,” said Clark.  “I’m ready to do the work and be the advocate the people of the Sixth District deserve.  I’ve spent my entire life standing up for our values on the issues that matter, and I’m proud to have a record of delivering results for people.”

The first ballot victory, earning the support of a super-majority of delegates, reflects the success of Clark’s grassroots campaign.  Clark has secured every endorsement in this race, including teachers, nurses, students, women, organized labor and progressive organizations.  Clark has been amongst the top-fundraising challengers nationally, already building a base of more than 7,000 individual contributors.

Clark noted that her volunteers begin the campaign immediately, with doorknocks fanning out across the district beginning at Noon tomorrow from the campaign’s St. Cloud headquarters.

“Our grassroots campaign has reached out to every corner of this district, and I’m proud to have earned their overwhelming support,” said Clark.  “Today -- together -- we begin in earnest the fight to bring an end to Michele Bachmann’s agenda.  Michele Bachmann is free to pursue her agenda on her own time, but no longer on the people’s dime.”

In securing the endorsement today, Clark defeated former Independence Party candidate Dr. Maureen Reed, who was also seeking the Party’s endorsement.

Clark was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2005, and re-elected in 2006 by double-digit margins.  She represents the St. Cloud area.  In the Senate, Clark has been a leader focused on creating jobs, ensuring opportunity for children and families, and supporting our veterans and military families.  She’s built a record of results on issues from protecting consumers to education to creating affordable, accessible health care.

##