Editing EMILY's List (section)

==History and mission==
[[File:Ellen Malcolm.jpg|thumb|Ellen Malcolm attending an EMILY's List event.]]
EMILYs List was founded in 1985 when 25 women met in the home of [[Ellen Malcolm]]. Founding members included [[Barbara Boxer]], [[Ann Richards]], [[Anne Wexler]], and [[Donna Shalala]].<ref name=national/> In 1986, early financial support from EMILYs List helped elect [[Barbara Mikulski]] of [[Maryland]], the first female Democrat elected to the [[U.S. Senate]] in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).<ref name=founding/><ref name=pimlott>{{cite book|last1=Pimlott|first1=Jamie Pamelia|title=Women and the Democratic Party: The Evolution of Emily's List|date=2010|publisher=Cambria Press|isbn=9781604976557}}<!--|access-date=5 February 2015--></ref>

The group's mission is to cultivate a donor network to raise money for female Democratic candidates in favor of abortion rights. To become an official EMILYs List member, an individual must pay $100 to join EMILYs List and agree to donate a minimum of $100 each to two U.S. Senate, U.S. House, or gubernatorial candidates. Members donate directly to EMILYs List, which bundles the checks together and forwards them to candidates.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pluta|first1=Rick|title=Raising Dough|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/10/17/raising-dough/|access-date=6 February 2015|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=October 17, 1993}}</ref>

In her book, ''When Women Win: EMILYs List and the Rise of Women in American Politics'', Ellen Malcolm, the organization's founder, stated that "creating progressive policies and promoting them can be incredibly valuable. But those policies will never be implemented unless enough politicians are elected who support them."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Malcolm, Ellen|title=When Women Win : EMILYs List and the Rise of Women in American Politics|others=Unger, Craig|year=2016|isbn=978-0-544-44331-0|location=Boston|pages=39|oclc=913923800}}</ref> They focused specifically on women in favor of abortion rights because they felt that "women couldn't be equal until they had control over their bodies."<ref>Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILYs List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 68. Print.</ref>

They focused on raising early money for women because women were not getting money from the Democratic party and thus were generally not winning races even if they were qualified,<ref>Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILYs List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 38. Print.
</ref> and they felt that early money could help convince people that their campaigns were credible and would help them raise more money later.<ref name="Malcolm, Ellen 2016">Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILYs List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 39. Print.</ref>

For the 2006 election cycle, EMILYs List raised about $46 million for candidates and the group was listed as the biggest PAC in the nation by ''Political Money Line''.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/01/sweet_column_hillary_clinton_g.html | work=Chicago Sun-Times | title=Sweet column: Hillary Clinton gets key endorsement for 2008 bid | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113193320/http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/01/sweet_column_hillary_clinton_g.html | archive-date=2008-01-13 }}</ref> EMILYs List endorsed 31 candidates in 2006, eight of whom were victorious.<ref name=national/>

In 2008, EMILYs List endorsed 22 U.S. House candidates, two U.S. Senate candidates, and three gubernatorial contenders.<ref name=national/> The PAC helped elect two new female senators, [[Kay Hagan]] of North Carolina and [[Jeanne Shaheen]] of New Hampshire, and supported the gubernatorial election of [[Bev Perdue]] of North Carolina, the re-election of Gov. [[Christine Gregoire]] of Washington, and the successful elections of twelve new women to the United States House of Representatives.<ref name=pimlott/>

EMILYs List criteria for picking candidates include staff recommendations, viability, "demographics and history of the district, analysis of opponents or potential opponents, analysis of candidate's education, political experience, etc., demonstrated success at fund-raising, poll data to demonstrate name recognition and grass roots support."<ref name="Malcolm, Ellen 2016"/>