Democratic mothers and the Vote Mama PAC are a silver lining in Pennsylvania after the state swung red in the general election. Vote Mama PAC-endorsed candidates achieved a 71% win rate in Pennsylvania and 70% nationally.
“While Democrats lost Pennsylvania, our moms outperformed, with pro-choice candidates winning competitive races across the state. These are the women who will stand up and fight to protect our most fundamental rights and democratic institutions,” said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder and CEO of Vote Mama.
Vote Mama PAC is a political action committee dedicated to supporting Democratic moms running for office. In this election, 12 Vote Mama PAC-endorsed candidates won seats in the Pennsylvania House and Senate.
“It is more important than ever that we are offering voters people they can resonate with, who they feel like share their lived experiences and how to provide a path forward so that American families can simply make ends meet and keep their kids safe,” said Vote Mama PAC’s CPO Sarah Hague.
Moms with minor children make up 7.9% of all state legislators, according to Vote Mama Foundation’s Politics of Parenthood report. In Pennsylvania, approximately 10% of the state legislators are mothers with minor children.
Mothers of young children are underrepresented with 18.2% of the adult population are adult women living with related minor children according to the 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. The challenges moms face while running for office have impacted the representation of moms in state legislatures and Congress.
“We know that childcare is 15 times more likely to fall on the woman, so that, you know, structural type barriers,” said Hague. “The preconceived notion about who moms are, and just the ability, especially for everyday working arms to be able to afford childcare while running for office.”
Vote Mama PAC endorses, funds, and mentors their candidates to help Democratic moms overcome the challenges motherhood may bring on the campaign trail. The fight for representation includes the fight against the Trump administration’s second term.
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Hague said the Democratic moms will be tasked with fighting harmful legislation introduced by the Trump administration. Vote Mama PAC candidates elected in office will push for legislation and policy that benefit families and keep children safe.
“It’s going to be bolder and harsher and more difficult for families to get by in America with the results of this election, and our moms are going to be on the front lines, fighting those fights,” Hague said.
While candidates fight for their policies in office, Vote Mama Pac is committed to supporting their candidates on the campaign trail and in office. The PAC supported 215 candidates this election cycle and over 600 since being founded in 2019
Vote Mama has built a network of support for moms. Endorsed candidates receive funding and support from the PAC and have access to the other moms running for office. Hague said candidates can connect through Zoom happy hours or a group chat and share the struggles they faced while campaigning.
“It’s so important to have that alternative to the old boys club where they can share, ‘today was a really hard day on the trail, or today was a great day I reached my my fundraising goal,’ and have a group of people who understand that how hard these milestones are,” Hague said.
Candidates can share important information across the network about whats happening in their state or others and establish the effective ways to counter the Trump administrations policies, said Hague.
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Vote Mama candidates working on the offense are hoping to support policies addressing the disadvantages moms may face like paid family leave, affordable housing, and increasing the minimum wage.
Hague said Vote Mama is working to support its candidates by providing campaign funds for child care, campaign funds for security, and addressing the structural issues in Congress and state legislatures that disadvantage moms in office. Vote Mama will continue to mentor candidates and create long term change normalizing moms in office, she said.
“Our work is not going to stop now. Not now, not ever, we are going to come back with a renewed sense of fight to get more moms engaged, to make the translation that civic engagement is self empowerment, and get more moms to be able to run for office and serve in office,” Hague said.
