“I WASN’T ASKING FOR PERMISSION.” – ELISE STEFANIK

“IT’S QUITE STARK AND QUITE OBVIOUS AS YOU LOOK AROUND THE GOP CONFERENCE THAT IT’S NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC,” STEFANIK TOLD US OF THE PARTY’S PROBLEM WITH WOMEN. “IT WAS PARTICULARLY STARK WHEN THEY LINED UP ALL OF THE NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS.” THE NUMBERS MIRROR THE IMAGE — ONLY 13 GOP WOMEN WILL BE SERVING IN THE NEXT CONGRESS, DOWN FROM 23. “WE NEED TO DO BETTER.”

Through E-PAC, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has led the national effort to increase the number of Republican women elected to Congress by ushering in 2020’s historic “Year of the Republican Woman.” 

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik proudly represents New York’s 21st District in the House of Representatives and serves as the House Republican Conference Chair. As the first woman to serve as the Recruitment Chair for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Congresswoman Stefanik successfully recruited more than 100 women – a record number – to run for Congress in 2018. 

Unfortunately, many of those candidates struggled to win their primaries. And only one new Republican woman was elected to Congress in that incoming freshman class. In the 116th Congress, only 13 Republican women served in the House of Representatives, making up only 2.9% of Congress.

E-PAC was launched after the 2018 midterm elections to increase that number by supporting top Republican female candidates in primaries across the country.

In the 2020 election cycle, 228 Republican female candidates ran for the House of Representatives, and a record 94 of them won their primaries. After the general election, 11 out of 15 of the districts that flipped from blue to red were won by E-PAC endorsed Republican women, and the number of Republican women in Congress more than doubled to the highest number of GOP women ever elected in our nation’s history.

In the 2022 cycle, E-PAC helped recruit and support a record number of Hispanic GOP women and built on 2020’s success to help elect an even higher number of GOP women to serve in the 118th Congress.

E-PAC will continue working to recruit, develop, support, and mentor slates of top tier women Republican candidates who have demonstrated electability and potential for candidate development and growth.

ENGAGE: This means pre-primary candidate engagement to ensure we have the strongest candidates heading into general elections.

EMPOWER: As women raise their hands and bravely step into the arena, we must empower these candidates by helping to develop a campaign strategy and the financial support to win.

ELEVATE: As candidates meet rigorous benchmarks, E-PAC hopes to elevate these women’s personal stories and candidacies to ensure that they are recognized in the media and by a national donor network.