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Emerge America

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Emerge America
Formation2008
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
President
A’shanti Gholar
Websitehttps://emergeamerica.org

Emerge America is a non-profit national political organization based in San Francisco with the mission to increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse background in public office through recruitment, training and providing a powerful network.[1]

Background

Andrea Dew Steele co-founded the original affiliate, Emerge California,[2] which was formed in 2002. Under Steele's leadership, Emerge was expanded nationwide in 2005.[3] Steele resigned from her position in May 2019.[4]

Emerge America added affiliates in 6 states in its first year and by the 2016 presidential election, it had affiliates in 23 states. The organization's strategy is to have affiliates in all 50 states by 2020.[1][5] Steele says the initial aim is for women to achieve 30% representation for women in government, noting evidence suggests this level passes a critical mass to effectively enact institutional change.[5] Emerge America has had 4,000 graduates, of which more 690 have been elected and are currently serving a political office, as of October 2018.[6]

A’shanti Gholar, the Political Director, said enrollment has increased across the board since the 2016 presidential election, and some classes have seen attendance almost double.[7] Overall, Emerge has seen an 87% increase in the number of applications since the 2016 election.[8] Gholar notes that at the end of 2017, there were 427 women running for a position in the U.S. Congress, compared to 219 women running at the same time in 2015.[7] The organization advised Naquetta Ricks during her successful campaign in 2020 for the Colorado House of Representatives.[9]

Reception

Hillary Clinton has praised the group as an organization helping to elect Democrats since the 2016 election by using coaching on public speaking, fundraising, networking, and ethical leadership.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Emerge America". Idealist. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  2. ^ "Andrea Dew Steele". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Kim, Betsy (July 14, 2017). "Female Candidates "Emerge"". New Haven Independent. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Hunt, Swanee; Dew, Andrea (April 21, 2018). "A seismic shift in government is coming, and here's who will drive it". CNN. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Richmond, Riva (November 9, 2017). "Emerge America is Embracing a 50-State Strategy". The Story Exchange. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "About Emerge America". Emerge America. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "LIVE: Emerge America's Gholar on Surge of Women Running For Political Office". GoLocalProv. January 13, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Trump is propelling a record number of women to run for office". Women in the World. November 6, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Guensburg, Carol; Ayoub, Betty (November 15, 2021). "Liberia Native Finds Her Footing as New Colorado Lawmaker". Voice of America.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ Roshell, Starshine (May 4, 2017). "More Women Are Running — For Office". The Independent. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  11. ^ Merica, Dan (May 16, 2017). "Hillary Clinton officially launches 'resistance' outside group". CNN. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  12. ^ Weber, Joseph (May 17, 2017). "Clinton PAC aims to boost left-wing, anti-Trump groups – will she still have clout?". Fox News. Retrieved May 18, 2017.