Cecile Richards on Hillary Clinton Momentum on Super Tuesday
For Immediate Release: March 11, 2016
Washington, DC -- Planned Parenthood Action Fund released the following statement as Hillary Clinton continues to gain momentum after major wins in Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and American Samoa on Super Tuesday.
Statement from Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“Congratulations to Hillary Clinton on major wins in states all across the country tonight. Hillary Clinton has been crisscrossing the country talking with voters of all backgrounds, listening to their concerns, and delivering her vision for our nation: that if we work together, we can build a future with greater opportunity and equality. Her hard work is paying off.”
“The millions of men, women and young people that come through the doors of Planned Parenthood health centers everyday need a leader on their side fighting for equal access to health care without judgement and regardless of income or background. Hillary Clinton is that leader and she is fighting for each of us everyday. Tonight’s results prove that voters believe in her leadership and we’re one step closer to her fighting for us in the White House.”
Planned Parenthood Votes spent more than a million dollars on the bilingual #ShesWithUs ad campaign in support of Hillary Clinton, with ad buys in Iowa, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, and Michigan (whose primary is March 8). The ads, which aired on broadcast, cable and digital outlets, featured Planned Parenthood Action Fund members, “Reyna,” “Latonya,” and “Lisa,” sharing their personal stories of why they support Hillary Clinton. Planned Parenthood Votes also ran digital ads, “Champion” and “Care That Drives,"on Hillary Clinton's record of fighting for access to reproductive health care.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund volunteers also reached out to tens of thousands of voters on the phone and through door knocking ahead of the election.
Women, especially African-American and Latina women, have been a determining force in recent elections. In 2012, Romney took an extreme stance against Planned Parenthood and women’s health, and ended up losing with the biggest gender gap in recent history — losing Latina women by 53 percent and losing African-American women by a whopping 93 percent.Hart Research found that 62 percent of all voters disagreed with Romney’s position to end funding for Planned Parenthood’s health services, including 66 percent of women voters. And 61 percent of all voters disagreed with Romney’s position on overturning Roe v. Wade.
Early exit polling this evening shows that 80%of African-American voters voted for Clinton in Virginia and Georgia, following similar trends in South Carolina.
In Virginia in 2013, Terry McAuliffe won the Virginia’s governor’s race because of the strength of women’s votes. African-American, Latina, and unmarried women turned out in numbers close to Barack Obama’s 2012 election, McAuliffe won women overall — and with them, the election. He also won 59 percent of the votes of people who said abortion was the most important issue to them, who made up 20 percent of the electorate.