November 7, 2023
“The next generation of pro-life voters is preparing to create the same legacy as their heroes, who fought the good fight until Roe v. Wade went to the ash heap of history. Abortion IS on the ballot, as radical abortion extremists control so much of the Democratic Party agenda, pushing for taxpayer funded abortion without limits, up to birth,” said Students for Life Action’s Kristan Hawkins. “Anyone who disagrees with that, I dare you to name a limit on abortion supported by any prominent state or national Democratic Party leader.”
MEDIA ADVISORY: Watch X/Twitter @KristanHawkins & @SFLAction or email [email protected] for reaction as the results come in.
STAY TUNED for Ohio Exit Poll Results to learn more about the Messaging that Motivated Voters, whether Pro-Life or Pro-Abortion.
WASHINGTON D.C. (11-07-2023) – Students for Life Action will be tracking a number of races across the country, after engaging heavily in the Ohio abortion ballot initiative and key races in Virginia, along with the Kentucky Governor’s race. Front and center in much media reporting is the abortion-focused ballot initiative in Ohio, in which takes power from the voters to limit abortion even up to birth to give to courts. To read more on what the measure does, click here for analysis of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
The Pro-Life Generation door-knocking
SFLAction’s activism in Ohio has drawn extensive media attention. In advance of the results of this latest ballot initiative, SFLA & SFLAction Announce Groundbreaking Plan to Be on Every Traditional College Campus in the United States in Just Five Years.
In making the announcement, Hawkins noted: “Before you ask about our ideas for future ballot initiatives, this strategic battleplan is a preview. We will 1) be direct about abortion, 2) be as well-funded as possible, and 3) be everywhere. We want every college student in America to be confronted by the reality of abortion, encouraged to join the life-affirming fight, and enlisted in the Pro-Life Generation,” said Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins. “As we are now already 40% of the way there, the SFLA team will be kicking it into high gear to create culture change and protect life in both law and service.”
At SFLAction, we find that when we recruit and train a young voter, that they become an activist in future cycles. Hawkins reported that in looking at 2022 deployments, for example, 55% of our students engaged while more than 83% of all activists who volunteered said they were “very likely” to continue to volunteer in future elections.”
Ohio Ballot Initiative:
SFLAction in Ohio by the numbers, we:
- Engaged with 28 Students for Life groups, developing grassroots efforts with more than 150 volunteers.
- Directed more than 20 student-led door-knocking and dorm-knocking days.
- Participated in knocking more than 85,000 doors.
- Contacted 5,990 households via phone.
- Hosted 28 educational and voter registration displays, registered hundreds to vote at the cost of $7 per voter registered and $12 per mind-change.
- Trained more than 350 students for outreach.
- Empowered 25 Social Media Captains to reach 50,000 people weekly with digital footprint which was measured in August to be the highest social media engagement in the state, surpassing even the New York Times and other media.
- Garnered more than 5,300 clicks to VOTE NO education site over the last 48 hours using a Google search-engine optimization ad campaign.
Ohio efforts included:
- Focusing on campus outreach: Days From Ohio’s Election, the Pro-Life Gen Shares Message that is Convincing Youth Vote to OPPOSE Issue 1
- Recruiting peer outreach: Want to Make Real Election Impact in Ohio? Become a Campus Coordinator or Social Media Captain in Your State
- Networking nationwide: Students for Life Action Debuts 31 New State Captains, Plans to Utilize Power of Youth Vote Headed into Election Season
- Organizing educational tours: Stop Abortion Extremism Tour: Ohio Edition
- Messaging specific themes: Ohio Preborn Lives Are On the Ballot in November; This is How SFLAction is Working to Protect Them
- Strategizing grassroots efforts: SFLAction Launches 3-Step Plan for Defending Life in Ohio by Energizing the Youth Vote, as the November Ballot Initiative on Abortion is Priority Number One
- Educating voters on the radical agenda of the Democratic Party lead by President Joe Biden: Students for Life Action Launches New TV Spot Reminding the Youth Vote that President Biden’s Abortion Extremism Includes Support for Abortions in ALL NINE MONTHS
Kentucky Governor’s Race:
SFLAction in Kentucky by the numbers, we worked with seven Students for Life groups on grassroots efforts.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron – If elected to the Governor’s Mansion, Attorney General Daniel Cameron who help complete the state trifecta of Republican control. Unlike the current Democrat Governor Andy Beshear, who vetoed a restriction on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Cameron has been a defender of life in the blue-grass state and has stated he is proud of the fact that abortion facilities have been closing in the state of Kentucky. However, he recently stated that if the Kentucky legislature pushed forward a bill with exceptions for race or incest, he would sign it, but only if the courts forced his hand and that he would not advocate for it. Currently, Kentucky has limited abortion except in cases to save a pregnant mother’s life and to prevent serious risk to a pregnant mother’s physical health, thanks to the Human Life Protection Act of 2019.
Virginia House of Delegates:
SFLAction in Virginia by the numbers, we:
- Engaged eight Students for Life groups to develop grassroots efforts with more than 85 volunteers.
- Participated in dorm and door knocking more than 50,000 doors.
- Contacted 50,000+ voters via personal texts.
- Hosted 11 educational and voter registration displays on campus, where we also registered hundreds of students to vote.
Another closely watched race tonight will be in Virginia, where all 140 seats majorities in the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate as are up for grabs. A Republican majority in both would provide enough political power for Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s stated goal to reduce, though not completely eliminate, abortion access in the state of Virginia, presently one of the most permissive states in the nation. SFLAction has been extremely active in Virginia, canvassing and recruiting constantly and submitting op-eds regarding candidates pro-life bona fides to the VA papers of record. This work and advocacy have identified the below candidates as strongly pro-life. Races that are expected to be particularly close from this group are marked with an asterisk, based upon projected polls.
- John McGuire – District 10 – Senate
- Emily Brewer – District 17 – Senate*
- Kevin Adams – District 22 – Senate
- Tara Durant – District 27 – House
- Juan Pablo Segura – District 31 – Senate*
- Julie Perry – District 36 – Senate
- Chris Obenshain – District 41 – House*
- Jason Ballard – District 42 – House
- Tim Griffin – District 53 – House
- Tom Garrett – District 56 – House
- David Owen – District 57 – House*
- Amile Wilson – District 64 – House
- Lee Peters – District 65 – House*
- Graven Craig – District 69 – House
- Mark Earley Jr – District 73 – House
- Kim Taylor – District 82 – House*
- Karen Greenhalgh – District 97 – House*
For interviews, email [email protected]
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Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501c4, along with its 501c3 sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA), make up the nation’s largest, pro-life youth organization, managing a political and policy operation engaging Americans of all ages but with a special emphasis on the largest segment of voters — the Youth Vote. Together they provide political, legal, educational, and community support for women and children, born and preborn. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, SFLA serves more than 1,400 groups on middle, high school, college, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. SFLA and SFLAction have more conversations with this generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world, each week reaching more than 4 million across social media platforms and averaging 1.3 million video views. SFLA has also launched multiple initiatives to lead and serve the future of the pro-life movement including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement. Over more than 17 years, President Kristan Hawkins has grown SFLAction/SFLA and the Pro-Life Generation into a nearly $20M organization, now preparing for an abortion-free America.