The pro-choice powerhouse political action committee announced that Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Secretary of State Michele Reagan made its "on notice" list.
EMILY's List, known for funding the campaigns of pro-choice Democratic women, announced in a press release Thursday that it will target Reagan and Brnovich, along with a slew of incumbent Republicans, for their “anti-family” records.
Executive Director Emily Cain said in a release that the PAC will target Brnovich during the 2018 election because of his “long and shameful record of pushing an agenda that rolls back the clock on women’s health care rights.”
Brnovich’s spokeswoman Mia Garcia told Phoenix New Times she couldn’t comment on the 2018 election as a state employee. She said she hadn’t seen the statement from EMILY’s List, and couldn’t comment immediately on their claims that Brnovich has an “anti-woman” record.
EMILY’s List points to Brnovich’s approval of a temporary rule requiring Arizona abortion clinics to report what happens to the remains of aborted fetuses to state health officials and a subpoena compelling a health clinic to produce names and unredacted records of women who’d had abortions.
Jodi Liggett, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Arizona, condemned the subpoena but noted that it targeted Camelback Family Planning and involved allegations regarding fetal tissue sale and donation — neither of which Planned Parenthood of Arizona was or is engaged in.
“At Planned Parenthood we believe all patients, especially abortion patients, must have their medical privacy respected, and we are concerned in general about the chilling effect this kind of action has on women seeking reproductive health care," Liggett said in a statement.
Reagan made EMILY's virtual hit list for her votes to allow the state to search abortion clinics without a warrant, to defund Planned Parenthood in Arizona, and to allow companies to deny women contraception coverage due to religious concerns.
Reagan’s director of communications, Matt Roberts, told New Times in an email that Reagan had no comment.We're placing governors, statewide officials, & entire legislative chambers On Notice for their anti-woman agendas. https://t.co/fpm7DNQfwv pic.twitter.com/hjLL8Woq51
— EMILY's List (@emilyslist) September 14, 2017
The “on notice” list isn’t just symbolic. EMILY’s List says it’s recruiting pro-choice Democratic women leaders to strategically target Republican officials like Reagan and Brnovich in the 2018 election cycle.
Democratic state Senator Katie Hobbs, who’s running against Reagan in 2018, may be one such leader.
Hobbs staffer Niles Harris told New Times that the campaign is hoping for an endorsement from EMILY’s List.
“We feel that this is huge,” Harris said of Reagan’s “on notice” designation. “We feel this is another sign we have a real ability to take the secretary of state position in 2018.”
As a whole, EMILY’s List’s state-level “on notice" program targets three governors, legislative bodies in 10 states, three secretaries of state, and only one attorney general, Brnovich.
The organization announced its list of Republicans “On Notice” on a national level in July, including Arizona Senator Jeff Flake and Representative Martha McSally.
But only time and political winds will tell how much damage one list can do.
Liggett said the fact that two state-level Republican officials made the list says a lot about Arizona and the Republican party in general.
"I wish I could say it’s surprising, but it’s not," Liggett said. "It says plenty, but says less about one individual policy-maker than it says about what the Republican party has become and just how cynical their whole position is on women’s reproductive rights specifically."
