Rodriguez Victory Marks 23rd Pro-Choice Pick-Up in House of Representatives
NARAL Pro-Choice America
For immediate release
December 13, 2006 Washington, DC – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, congratulated the voters in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District for electing pro-choice candidate Ciro Rodriguez, who defeated anti-choice incumbent Rep. Henry Bonilla. NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC endorsed Rodriguez in his race against Bonilla and sent national and district alerts to its members in support of Rodriguez in the week leading up to last night’s win. Keenan, who is in Texas today, attending a NARAL Pro-Choice Texas legislative briefing, said that Rodriguez’ return to Congress is a victory for women’s health. "Rodriguez’ victory is a sign that Texas voters, like Americans across the country, are tired of the divisive attacks on women’s reproductive freedom," Keenan said. "They want leaders like Ciro Rodriguez who will defend our constitutional rights, while uniting behind commonsense, common-ground proposals, like better access to birth control, that would prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion. We look forward to welcoming Rep. Rodriguez back to Congress and working with him in standing up for the pro-choice values that Americans support." Former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez’ defeat of seven-term anti-choice incumbent Henry Bonilla, in a runoff yesterday, marks the 23rd pro-choice gain in the House of Representatives in the 2006 midterm elections. In addition to the $2,500 in PAC contributions, NARAL Pro-Choice America contacted voters in the district on behalf of Rodriguez before yesterday’s run-off.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, the nation’s largest non-partisan pro-choice political organization, contributed $540,160 directly to candidates in the 2006 cycle through its PAC. In addition, the organization spent $2.5 million on independent expenditures on behalf of six pro-choice candidates, five of whom won their races on November 7: Congressman-elect Bruce Braley (IA-01); Congresswoman-elect Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08); Congressman-elect Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Congressman-elect Patrick Murphy (PA-08); and Congressman-elect Joe Sestak (PA-08). Contact: Ted Miller, 202.973.3032
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