October 27, 2022 Newsletter
Project 50 was launched earlier this year in recognition of the vulnerability of reproductive rights in many parts of the country in the event that the U. S. Supreme Court failed to stand by the precedent it set with 1973’s Roe v Wade decision. As we know now, the Supreme Court not only backed away from five decades of precedent in its June 24 ruling in the Dobbs case, it did an about- face. Now begins the long, deliberate, focused work of building political power to re-establish the right to decide whether to be pregnant, state-by-state.
— Bryan Howard, Executive Director
Overview of Project 50’s 2022 Efforts
Project 50 set out from the beginning to work in states that are at risk of losing – or have already lost – access to reproductive healthcare including abortion care. That’s about half of the 50 states. We narrowed our focus by prioritizing states with important reproductive healthcare networks, both for their own residents but also entire regions of the country. We also sought out states where victory in a small number of races could shift the balance of power in the direction of reproductive rights. Based on these factors, our initial priority list included Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Over the past few months we’ve spent time on the ground in a number of these states, talked with allied repro-focused and progressive organizations, and met with candidates where allowed by state election laws. We’ve also been closely watching the rapidly changing legal landscape following the loss of Roe v. Wade. At this time, we are focusing our resources on three Arizona State Senate races.
Why Arizona, specifically?
Our interest in the Arizona State Senate and these specific races begins with the fact that Arizona’s population of over 1 million women of reproductive age are in imminent danger of all abortion care being banned and criminalized. This is due to a near total abortion ban that criminalizes providers and was first enacted in 1864 (60 years before Arizona even became a state). The loss of Roe meant that Arizona reproductive rights opponents suddenly saw an opportunity to revive this dangerous legal relic. Meanwhile, in 2021, the Arizona legislature adopted another ban beginning at 15 weeks of pregnancy, again with no exceptions. While abortion healthcare and reproductive rights in the other states in which we are interested are far from secure, we think these increased, unique threats to Arizonans mandates that we focus there.
At the same time, the Arizona Senate is already just two votes away from achieving a pro- choice majority. After redistricting, the likely outcome in November is 12 pro-choice seats and 13 anti-choice seats, with 5 races being too close to predict. This is exactly the type of scenario in which Project 50’s role of spotlighting the extremism of the anti-choice candidates can make a difference.
About the State Senate Races in AZ 2, 4, & 13
Project 50 is specifically focused on three races – State Senate Districts 2, 4 and 13 and the reproductive rights advocates running there: Jeanne Casteen, Christine Marsh and Cindy Hans, respectively. The three reproductive rights advocates in these districts come out of public education as teachers or principals, have all pledged to work to protect abortion healthcare access, and are well known and respected in their districts. Meanwhile, their opponents are incumbents who have cast vote after vote in the state legislature to eliminate reproductive rights.
District 2 – Jeanne Casteen is a long-time teacher and school board member. Her priorities if elected to the State Senate include protecting reproductive freedom, creating a strong economy for working class families, and reforming the Arizona education system. She hopes to represent the North side of Phoenix and has been endorsed by many organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the American Working Families Party, and Save Our School Arizona. She has also received the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Moms Demand Action. Click here to learn more about her campaign or visit her on social media!
District 4 – Senator Christine Marsh has been teaching high school for almost 30 years, receiving the Arizona Teacher of the Year Award in 2016 and educating over 3500 students during her career. She was first elected to the State Senate in 2020 to serve the North East side of Phoenix. She has been endorsed by EMILY’s List, Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and many other education and labor organizations. She has also received the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Moms Demand Action. Click here to learn more about her campaign or visit her on social media!
District 13 – Cindy Hans has also been in education for roughly three decades, serving as a public school teacher and principal. Education, water quality, reproductive healthcare, and gun control are just a few of the issues Cindy hopes to take action on in the Senate. Her district includes the area south of Mesa in the Phoenix suburbs. Cindy has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, EMILY’s List, and many other education, abortion, and labor organizations. She, too, has also received the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Moms Demand Action. Click here to learn more about her campaign or visit her on social media!
Feature: Our campaign strategy & digital materials
Check out 2 of our television advertisements that are NOW airing in Arizona! To see our full list of ads, click HERE!
Project 50 has partnered with nationally-recognized communications consultants GPS Impact to develop our voter communication program. In order to persuade and mobilize younger voters, our program this year is being conducted in the form of digital messages delivered through various streaming platforms such as YouTube and Sling TV. Our goal is to ensure that voters are aware of extremist anti-choice candidates and to enable our allies to communicate their pro-choice views. We believe the candidates we support are best equipped to decide how to talk about abortion and contraceptive health care, both in terms of the cultural environment of their district and their own lived experience.
Republican Ads on Abortion in District 4
Here are just two examples of the Republican candidate for District 4, Nancy Bartos’ recent campaign ads, touting her extremism on abortion and disregard for women’s health. These examples highlight the importance of our presence in these key districts.
Please stay tuned as we build up our operations and broaden our outreach efforts! Project 50 hopes to expand to several other states following the November elections, supporting pro- choice, local candidates across the country.
We CAN stop and reverse the backward slide in our rights by keeping voters focused on the extreme positions of anti-abortion candidates on election day and holding elected officials accountable once they are in office.
Paid for by Project 50 (project50.net) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.