Prominent Democrats, including members of Congress, are urging the departing Planned Parenthood president to run for political office.
BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday that following Cecile Richards’ announcement of departure from the healthcare nonprofit, Twitter buzzed with hopes that the news might mean she has plans to run for office.
https://twitter.com/MrDane1982/status/957109085295513600
Democratic officials and activists reportedly expressed the same hope at a women-centered State of the Union event.
“I wondered if she was running for office, I was going to ask her tonight,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told BuzzFeed News. “She would be an amazing candidate if she wanted to run.”
Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, reportedly agreed.
“Fuck yeah she should run for office!” Garza said. “We’ve basically made a whole plan for her campaign without her.”
A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood reportedly told BuzzFeed News that Richards’ “devotion to women’s rights is far from over, and she has made clear that she will continue to be a voice and advocate for women and girls in the US and around the world,” but that she has “no plans to run for office.”
According to BuzzFeed News, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said Richards would be an “extraordinary elected leader,” and other political operatives said her experience would set her up with a strong agenda focused on women’s health. Richards worked in Texas in the ’90s on the campaign for her mother, the late Gov. Ann Richards, and served as deputy chief of staff for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump’s administration moved to allow states to block Medicaid recipients from seeking healthcare at Planned Parenthood and other facilities, its latest effort to defund abortion providers.
H/T BuzzFeed News