$4 to support 4 pro-choice women on the ballot this year

This is our chance to flip control of a GOP-held chamber and elect a wave of pro-choice women in Virginia this year! You are receiving this email from 314 Action Fund because you’ve previously expressed interest or taken part in our efforts. If you’d rather not get all of our updates you can [click here]( for only the most important emails. To unsubscribe instantly [you can click here.]( Former President Barack Obama is rightabout this: Some of the most influential and pivotal decisions that affect our day-to-day lives aren’t decided by Congress or the President, but by local and state legislators – just look at the historic wave of anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and voter suppression bills being pushed by the GOP in dozens of states across the country. [Republicans are just FOUR seats away from winning complete control of Virginia’s state government this November (where Republicans are pledging to introduce a statewide abortion ban styled after Texas and Florida). That’s why we’re asking if you’ll donate $4 DIRECTLY to 4 pro-choice women with backgrounds in science who are running to stop them.]( [In a moment we’ll tell you more about Hala Ayala, Sally Hudson, Susanna Gibson, and Bonita Anthony and why your $4 could decide whether or not Republicans or Democrats control Virginia’s State Legislature.]( [DONATE NOW »]( The reason grassroots support is so critical in these races is because a local race or race for a key state legislative seat can cost 1/10th or even 1/100th of the cost of a single competitive Congressional race. So your support goes exponentially further at the state and local level (and while key Senate candidates can raise millions in the span of one day, a lot of that support never makes it to downballot folks like the four women we’re featuring today). --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hala Ayala (VA SD-33)]( Hala Ayala (VA SD-33) – Right now, the only reason the Trumpian GOP Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin doesn’t have a supermajority and complete control over Virginia is because Democrats held onto the State Senate by just TWO seats. Republicans will be spending tens of millions of dollars to retake the Senate and our ability to defend our razor-thin majority there becomes impossible if Hala and Sally lose these Senate seats. Hala’s story is unlike many others who enter politics. When her first child was born, she worked in a gas station and was uninsured. But she never gave up on the American Dream, working through college as a single mother to become a cybersecurity specialist with the Department of Homeland Security in a career spanning two decades before running for office. After helping plan the Women’s March of 2017, she ran for office as a first-time candidate and unseated a Republican in a historically GOP-held district. While in office, she led the effort to expand Medicaid that covered 500,000 Virginians and strengthened background checks on firearms sales after losing her father to gun violence. With your help, we’ll defend our Senate majority and send a tried-and-true public servant to the State Senate! --------------------------------------------------------------- [Dr. Sally Hudson (VA SD-11)](. Sally Hudson (VA SD-11) – In 2019, Sally made history as the first woman in Virginia history to represent Charlottesville in the State House. During her time in the General Assembly, she secured a perfect score and was labeled a “Legislative Hero” by the League of Conservation voters for her leadership on climate and environmental issues. Sally earned her PhD at MIT as a National Science Foundation fellow and teaches statistics as a professor at the University of Virginia – a job she still holds while serving in the State House. In the State House, Sally has been a leader on affordable housing, unemployment, economic development, climate, and healthcare. She’ll need our help to win this must-win seat and be a leader for Virginia families, especially at a time when the State Senate is our best line of defense against Virginia’s Donald Trump, Gov. Glenn Youngkin. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Susanna Gibson (VA HD-57)]( Gibson (VA HD-57) – Election experts at CN Analysis rate this as one of only FOUR toss-up races for the State House where Democrats need to flip just two seats to retake the majority in this chamber. This is also a district Joe Biden carried in 2020, so it’s a perfect opportunity for a strong candidate like Susanna to win – that is, if she has the resources to get her message out! Few people are better equipped to speak to the threat of a statewide abortion ban in Virginia than Susanna, a nurse practitioner and public health expert with nearly two decades of experience. Part of the reason she’s running for office is because she believes she can better provide for patients across the state in elected office and someone who has spent years navigating state and local laws, resources, and legislation related to healthcare, medicine, and reproductive freedoms. If Susanna wins, Democrats will have a more than 50% chance of retaking the majority and securing both chambers of the Virginia State Legislature, this November which will allow us to freeze Glenn Youngkin’s extreme Far-Right agenda in its tracks. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bonita Anthony (VA HD-92)]( Anthony (VA HD-92) – With Democrats needing to flip two seats to win control of the chamber, they can’t afford to lose any seats, like the Democratic-held seat Bonita is running for. Bonita is an electrical engineer with nearly two decades of experience as an educator and instructor at a range of Virginia institutions, ranging from Virginia State University to Old Dominion University and the Batten College of Engineering & Technology. Especially at a time when Republicans are pushing for book bans and audits of librarians, it’s never been more important to have educators like Bonita in office to fight back. If Democrats hold this seat and other key seats, election experts say we have more than a 50% chance of flipping the State House this year! [While $4 might not seem like much, when thousands of you give it could be enough to power Hala, Sally, Susanna, and Bonita to victory in these critical races this November and WIN control of the Virginia state legislature!]( If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will be immediately processed and split between 314 Action, Hala Ayala, Sally Hudson, Susanna Gibson, and Bonita Anthony. [CHIP IN $10 IMMEDIATELY »]( [CHIP IN $25 IMMEDIATELY »]( [CHIP IN $50 IMMEDIATELY »]( [CHIP IN $100 IMMEDIATELY »]( [CHIP IN $200 IMMEDIATELY »]( [CHIP IN ANOTHER AMOUNT »]( Thank you, 314 Action PAID FOR BY 314 ACTION FUND, 314ACTION.ORG, NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR ANY CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. [Click here to unsubscribe from 314 Action's Email List]( 314 Action is a grassroots community of over 6 million people working to elect Democratic scientists at all levels of government who will use science and facts to address some of our most pressing issues from climate change and gun violence to health care and protecting the environment. To date, we've flipped five U.S. Senate seats from red to blue, including drafting both Mark Kelly and John Hickenlooper to run, helped Democrats flip the House in 2018 by electing eight Democrats in red to blue districts, and secured more than six dozen state legislative victories -- All with an average donation of $18. The best way we can build on the progress we've achieved and empower President Joe Biden's science-first agenda is to defend our razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate, which is why we're targeting 68 Senate, House, Gubernatorial and statewide races ahead of 2022. We're creating political consequences for the Republicans who disavow science, deny the reality of climate change, and spread conspiracy theories as a result. If you'd like to support 314 Action Fund, you can [click here]( to make a donation. To get text message updates from 314 Action text 314 to 31498.