On
the eve of a crucial election that will determine the shape of the next
Congress, today the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights
organization, announced that HRC President Chad Griffin will travel to
four states with critical races to mobilize thousands of LGBT voters and
their allies to get out and vote for equality. As part of HRC’s
unprecedented ongoing national effort, Griffin will anchor events for
candidates whose wins are important to maintaining a majority of
pro-equality leaders in the U.S. Senate, including in Oregon, Colorado,
Georgia, and New Hampshire.
“We are at a critical juncture in our fight for full
equality,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The outcome of this
election will impact whether or not we move forward or backward with
fair-minded policies and legislation, and that’s why mobilizing LGBT
voters and allies to get out and vote for equality-minded candidates is a
key priority.”
According to a poll
conducted for HRC by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, LGBT and allied
voters were critical to 2012 electoral successes. HRC is working to
ensure they make the difference in key races this time around as well.
As part of HRC’s ongoing efforts, on the cross-country tour
Griffin will travel in person to multiple local events to urge HRC
members to vote for HRC-endorsed candidates in tight races. Winning
these races is crucial to maintaining a majority of pro-equality leaders
in the U.S. Senate.
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Oregon: U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – With
over 81,000 HRC members and supporters in Oregon, Griffin will travel to
Portland today to join one of the ongoing phone banks for Senator Jeff
Merkley. There he’ll be joined by Senator Merkley, Oregon House Speaker
Tina Kotek, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, and Portland Mayor
Charlie Hales. Through its political action committee (PAC), HRC also
launched an online ad
emphasizing the critical importance of re-electing Senator Merkley. A
longstanding champion for LGBT equality, Senator Merkley was the lead
sponsor in the Senate for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
For the last three HRC Congressional Scorecards in a row, Senator
Merkley earned a perfect 100% score.
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Colorado: U.S. Senator Mark Udall – With over 40,000 HRC members and supporters in Colorado, Griffin will travel to Denver on Wednesday, October 29,
to join one of the ongoing phone banks for Senator Udall. There he’ll
be joined by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Democratic
Party Chair Rick Palacio. HRC’s political action committee also
launched an online ad
emphasizing the critical importance of re-electing Senator Udall, an
outspoken advocate for LGBT equality. In addition to being a leader in
the successful fight to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, Senator Udall
encouraged President Obama to ban LGBT discrimination by federal
contractors and has long fought for the passage of ENDA.
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Georgia: Michelle Nunn – With nearly 40,000 HRC members and supporters in Georgia, on Thursday, October 30,
Griffin will travel to Atlanta for one of the ongoing phone banks to
help elect Michelle Nunn to the U.S. Senate. There are stark differences
between Nunn and her opponent David Purdue, and her strong positions on
issues of great importance to LGBT Georgians make her the clear choice
for equality.
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New Hampshire: U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen – With nearly 9,000 HRC members and supporters in New Hampshire, on Saturday, November 1,
Griffin will travel to Manchester to join one of the ongoing phone
banks to re-elect Senator Shaheen. Notably, Senator Shaheen was the
first U.S. Senator to call for the addition of marriage equality in the
Democratic Party platform. She has also been a tireless advocate for
extending equal benefits to the same-sex spouses of service members.
Prior to these local events, Griffin will kick off the tour
with a remote town hall with Congressman Bruce Braley in his bid for
the U.S. Senate.
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Iowa: Bruce Braley - Firing up LGBT and
ally voters in Iowa, Griffin will also join Congressman Braley for a
telephone town hall with HRC members. Braley earned a perfect 100%
score on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard for the 113th Congress. He
supported ENDA and co-sponsored the Student Non-Discrimination Act and
the Safe Schools Improvement Act.
These events are just a small part of HRC’s national
efforts. Because every vote counts, HRC is undertaking a major
mobilization of LGBT voters and their allies. This includes:
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Sent millions of election-related action alerts to engage
HRC members in endorsed candidate campaigns and to get out the vote for
HRC-endorsed candidates
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Deployed 24 staff members to work on dozens of endorsed candidate campaigns and to mobilize HRC members
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Coordinated dozens of volunteer phone banks at HRC headquarters and across the country
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Will launch phone calls to HRC members and supporters to get out the vote in more than 50 priority races
Amplifying and expanding the impact of these efforts, HRC
is also investing in an aggressive digital strategy to help get out the
vote for equality, including:
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A national online ad motivating LGBT voters and their allies to get out the vote for equality
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Online ads in Oregon and Colorado to help re-elect two important pro-equality Senators
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Facebook advertising urging HRC members to get out the vote in key states
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Mobile advertising with links to HRC’s website where users can lookup polling locations
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Twitter advertising to help build social awareness to get out and vote
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