Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates Kathy Manning’s Victory in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Defeat of anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican candidate Lee Haywood is a win for North Carolinians and reproductive freedom
North Carolina — Today, voters in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District elected NARAL-endorsed candidate Kathy Manning to the U.S. House of Representatives. Her victory over anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican candidate Lee Haywood marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and flips a critical seat in the House.
In response to Manning’s victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement:
“It’s clear that voters firmly rejected Republican Lee Haywood’s anti-choice, anti-freedom platform and his willingness to rubber-stamp Trump’s out-of-touch ideological agenda. Kathy Manning is exactly the kind of leader we need in Congress, and NARAL Pro-Choice America and our members are proud to have mobilized to help turn out the vote and flip this critical seat in North Carolina’s 6th District. We are thrilled that Kathy Manning will serve in the House of Representatives, where we know that she will be a true champion of our fundamental rights.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America Southeast Regional Director Laura Simmons said:
“NARAL and our 28,000 members across North Carolina congratulate Kathy Manning on her outstanding victory. Unlike Republican Lee Haywood, Kathy Manning will stand strong against ideological attacks on reproductive freedom. NARAL is proud to have endorsed her in this critical race, and we are counting down the days until she joins the ranks of Congress in January.”
NARAL endorsed Manning as part of its largest-ever electoral program. The historic program reached over 3 million voters in key states—including North Carolina—to win races up and down the ballot.
Recent polling found that a strong majority (74%) of North Carolina voters believe that abortion should be legal, and that the government should not prevent a woman from making that decision for herself.
North Carolina already has some of the most severe restrictions on reproductive freedom in the United States, which include forcing multi-day delays before a person can receive abortion care and subjecting patients to mandatory biased counseling. Over 90% of North Carolina counties have no clinics providing abortion care and more than half of North Carolina women live in a county without an abortion clinic. These types of barriers disproportionately harm BIPOC, low-income, and rural communities, and are part of a coordinated effort by the Radical Right to maintain white patriarchal control at all costs.
Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.