EMILY'S List, a national group that backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights, on Wednesday endorsed U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen and Yadira Caraveo in the Colorado Democrats' bids for reelection in 2024.
The first-term Democrats represent competitive seats that could determine which party wins the House majority in next year's election, the organization said. They're among the 18 House incumbents EMILY'S List is backing in its initial round of endorsements.
Caraveo, a former state representative and pediatrician, defeated Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer by less than 1 percentage point last year in the state's new 8th Congressional District, which covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties north of the Denver metro area.
National Democrats and Republicans have already pegged Caraveo's reelection bid as one of next year's battleground races.
Pettersen, a former state senator, won last year's race in the open 7th Congressional District by a more comfortable margin, beating political newcomer Erik Aadland, the Republican nominee, by 15 percentage points. The district covers most of Jefferson County and all or parts of six mountain counties stretching south past Cañon City.
Neither Democratic incumbent has yet drawn a challenger.
EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler called Caraveo's election "proof" that her district's residents "will not stand for the kind of radical anti-choice extremism and government overreach that has been threatening to take away our rights and freedoms."
Added Butler in a statement: "Rep. Caraveo’s commitment to her community and experience as a pediatrician gives her unique insight into the problems that Coloradans face, and EMILYs List knows that she will go on to do even greater things in her next term in Congress.”
Caraveo welcomed the endorsement on Twitter.
"Last year's election results were clear: our community wants a leader who protects women's abortion rights, not someone who supports extremist bans," she tweeted, referencing her Republican opponent's support for abortion restrictions.
Butler said in a statement that the group was "thrilled" to again endorse Pettersen.
“Her dedication to Coloradans shines through everything she does, and her record of fighting for working Colorado families, championing mental health and substance abuse recovery, and advocating for mothers and children speaks for itself," Butler said.
Originally named after the acronym for "early money is like yeast" — because it "helps raise the dough" — EMILY'S List is a powerhouse campaign organization on the left, counting millions of members nationwide and boasting that it's helped elect more than 1,000 women since its 1985 launch.
The group endorsed both Pettersen and Caraveo last cycle. The group and its affiliated committees raised nearly $50 million on 2022 elections, and its PAC contributed $475,000 to federal candidates in 2022 — including $10,000 to Pettersen's campaign and $5,000 to Caraveo's — according to campaign finance site OpenSecrets.com.
