After Roe Overturned, Women's PAC Backs Kennedy's Worcester Senate Run

Worcester MA

24 June, 2022

11:10 AM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — A Worcester political action committee backing women candidates made its first endorsement Friday on the heels of the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade. The Massachusetts Women for Progress PAC will support Robyn Kennedy in her bid to win retiring Worcester state Sen. Harriette Chandler's seat. Chandler was the first woman elected to the state Senate, and won key reforms to state abortion laws in 2020. Kennedy will face Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty Jr. in the September Democratic primary. This is Kennedy's first run for statewide office. Petty is in his 25th year as a Worcester City Councilor, and his sixth term as mayor. "We need to elect people with the urgency of living women's issues every day, and who will be a champion on affordability, housing, and childcare, that person for the First Worcester Senate District is Robyn Kennedy," said the PAC's senior advisor, Patty Eppinger, in a news release. The Supreme Court's decision Friday overturning Roe V. Wade was written by Justice Samuel Alito. A draft of the decision leaked in early May, sparking demonstrations across the nation. Friday's decision will have an immediate impact on abortion rights in 13 states, largely in the south and west. READ: MA Among States With Abortion Protection If Roe V. Wade Falls Kennedy and Petty both attended a rally on May 3 outside the Worcester County Superior Courthouse along Main Street. Both candidates support abortion access, they told a crowd during the demonstration. The Democratic primary between Kennedy and Petty will be held Sept. 6. No Republicans have filed to run for the seat, so the winner of the primary will almost certainly win the seat. An unenrolled candidate, Lisa Mair of Berlin, is also running for the 1st Worcester seat