Ho-Ho-Ho-pen Seats! Michelle and Tulsi are “On the List” (the “Nice” one, of course!)

‘Tis the season for giving – and there are few gifts we enjoy at EMILY’s List more than a big, shiny open congressional seat. Thanks to New Mexico Rep. Martin Heinrich’s and our own Mazie Hirono’s bids for the U.S. Senate, we have not only two terrific open-seat opportunities but – boy, we must have been really good this year – two amazing progressive women candidates blazing down the campaign trail.

While I hate to step on the red-suited guy’s story, it makes me feel quite jolly indeed to share the news that EMILY’s List is putting Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico’s first district and Tulsi Gabbard in Hawaii’s second district “On the List” for your immediate support.

Both these women bring a wealth of both life and policy experience to their respective campaigns. Michelle, a twelfth-generation New Mexican, County Commissioner, and longtime health care advocate, turned the state’s Agency on Aging into a nationwide model for innovation and accountability. And as Secretary of the state’s Department of Health, she pushed to improve accessibility, expand school-based health centers, and promote teen pregnancy prevention. Michelle’s campaign pledge to protect services for the state’s most vulnerable isn’t political, it’s personal – a widow and single mother to two daughters, she understands the struggles of everyday New Mexican families.

And running for Mazie’s open seat is the fabulous rising star, the formidable Tulsi Gabbard, a Honolulu City Councilwoman and member of the Hawaiian National Guard for whom no hurdle seems too steep. Elected at 21 to the Hawaiian State Legislature, she’s both the Aloha State’s youngest-ever elected legislator and the country’s youngest-ever elected woman legislator. And during her second deployment to the Middle East (that’s right, she volunteered not once, but twice) she became the first woman to receive an award from the Kuwait National Guard for her work training their counter-terrorism team. Eminently well-rounded, she helped her parents start and run two family businesses and at just 19 founded the nonprofit Healthy Hawaii Coalition to educate schoolchildren about the importance of conserving the Aloha State’s water resources.

Both women face tough races – and Michelle’s district is mired in New Mexico’s messy redistricting process – but they’re both proven fighters with inspiring stories. Plus, these races are must-wins for Democrats, so we need to mobilize quickly behind these incredible candidates.

Just think about how fiercely our Democratic congresswomen have stood up for health care, family planning, and choice during the past year. What better gift could you could give yourself, your mother, your sister – or the country’s children, seniors and veterans – than two more progressive Democratic women in the House?

So whether you’re kindling Hanukkah candles, hanging Christmas stockings, sharing a Kwanzaa meal or whipping up a Festivus for the rest of us, take a moment and contribute to Michelle or Tulsi.

Happy Holidays!

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