Emily’s List launches spending programs to aid two Congress hopefuls

Emily’s List has launched independent spending programs to help two of its endorsed candidates in California, Wendy Greuel and Eloise Gomez Reyes.

Greuel, a former Los Angeles controller and city councilwoman, is running in the crowded June 3 primary field to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills). Reyes is one of seven candidates vying to replace another retiring House member, Rep. Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga).

A spokeswoman for Emily’s List, which supports Democratic, pro-choice female candidates around the nation, said the organization was committed to “six-figure” programs on behalf of the two congressional candidates.

The programs are financed by Women Vote!, the organization’s independent expenditure arm, and, according to federal law, cannot be coordinated with the candidates’ campaigns.

To support Greuel, the organization is sending five political mailers to nearly 50,000 Democratic and liberal voters unaffiliated with a political party. Advertising on Pandora Internet Radio started Friday and is aimed at younger women, according to Emily’s List spokeswoman Marcy Stech.

In the Inland Empire, where Reyes is battling three other Democrats and three Republicans for one of the two places on the fall ballot, the organization is trying to reach about 42,000 likely primary voters, Stech said. The effort on behalf of Reyes includes six mailers and some digital advertising, she added.

Other groups are spending to support the campaigns of two of Reyes’ Democratic opponents, Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar and former Rep. Joe Baca of Rialto, federal records show.

Though Emily’s List is backing three other female House candidates in California, Greuel and Reyes are the only ones so far that Women Vote! has spent money to support.

In the 2012 elections, Women Vote! spent nearly $11 million in 22 races and 17 states, Stech said.