Late last week, Emily’s List, the nation’s largest pro-abortion political action group, endorsed West Virginia’s Secretary of State Natalie Tennant in her bid to become the Appalachan State’s governor.
The endorsement leaves pro-life West Virginians thinking she will represent a scandal-ridden abortion industry instead of their views if she becomes the governor after the october 4 special election. Both parties hold their primary election conests in May.
“Proponents of abortion invest millions in politicians that they expect to steer millions of taxpayer dollars into the abortion industry,” said Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. “We encourage Sec. Tennant to show that she truly wishes to represent the people of West Virginia by rejecting this endorsement and refusing further funding from the abortion industry.”
In a joint letter sent last week to each candidate running in the special election for governor, leaders from West Virginians for Life and the Family Policy Council of West Virginia challenged lawmakers to sign the, “Vote for Life” Pledge. The letter, signed by Karen Cross and Dys, also urged the pro-life community in West Virginia to commit to voting only for a candidate who refuses the millions of dollars the abortion industry offers to many candidates today. Tennant is not a signer of the pledge.
Dys told LifeNews.com the endorsement confirms rumors that Emily’s List, a multi-million dollar, out-of-state political action committee, had met with at least one candidate in the race for governor.
In the 2009 – 2010 election cycle, the pro-abortion group raised and spent more than $38 million dollars to elect pro-abortion candidates across the country. Along with NARAL and Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry has spent more than $184 million over the past decade to advance their agenda.
“Planned Parenthood, which performs more than 300,000 abortions every year and is heavily subsidized by taxpayer dollars, has recently been the center of an undercover investigations revealing their complicity in human sex trafficking, covering up statutory rape, and encouraging racially motivated abortions,” Dys said.
On the Democratic side, State Senate President Jeff Kessler, State Treasurer John Perdue, and State House Speaker Rick Thompson are seeking the Democtratic nod with Tennant. Republicans int he race include Del. Mitch Carmichael, former state Del. Larry Faircloth, Betty Ireland, former Secretary of State, and Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia.