Family Planning Action Fund supports Gallego in Arizona Senate race

Abortion rights group Planned Parenthood Action Fund is endorsing U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in the Arizona Senate race against Republican Kari Lake.

“Abortion rights are front and center this year, and nowhere is that more evident than in the Arizona Senate race. “We are faced with a tough choice between Kari Lake, who has made it very clear that we are opposed to this,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. said in a statement. shared with The Hill.

“That’s why Family Planning Action Fund is proud to support Reuben.”
Gallego in the United States Senate,” she continued. “Mr. Reuben has been championing Arizonans’ right to access abortion for decades, and we know he will continue that fight in the U.S. Senate.”

Last year, Gallego notably received support from the abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) previously received the group’s endorsement, and the group’s endorsement was announced before Sinema announced she would not seek re-election.

Gallego, who has co-sponsored bills such as the Women’s Health Protection Act, said in a statement Wednesday that she is “honored” to have the support of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund to fight for reproductive freedom. He said he would do “whatever it takes.”

“From the beginning, I have been committed to empowering Arizona women to own their own bodies, free from the opinions of politicians like Kali Lake who don’t have to dictate what they can and cannot do with their bodies. We have worked to ensure the freedom to make health care decisions,” Gallego said.

The Arizona Senate race is one of the best pick-up opportunities for Republicans after Sinema announced she would leave Congress after her term ends.

An Emerson College poll and The Hill poll released Wednesday found Gallego leading Lake 44-40 percent. When considering undecided voters, Mr. Gallego has 51% support, compared to 49% for Mr. Lake. These results are within the poll’s margin of error and effectively tie the two.

Democrats are leaning toward abortion, an issue that has continued to motivate them since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion rights groups in Arizona are considering putting an abortion bill on the ballot later this year in order to enshrine abortion rights into law. State constitution.

The party is trying to attack Lake, pointing to comments he made calling the process the “ultimate sin” and praising Texas’ six-week ban.

In her Arizona Senate race, Lake opposed the federal ban on abortion, and her campaign said she supported paid family leave and tax credits for women.

“I want to make sure that when a woman finds out she’s pregnant, she doesn’t get scared or think it’s her only option. Regardless of how many weeks the law lasts, regardless of all that stuff, I want to make sure that women don’t I want people to know they have options,” Lake told The Hill last year.