The Wish List is a political action committee devoted to electing pro-abortion rights, also called pro-choice, Republican women to the House of Representatives and Senate. The Wish List was founded in 1992.[1] The acronym "WISH" stands for Women In the Senate and House. The Wish List recruits candidates to run for federal office and state legislative offices.[2]
The Wish List was established in 1992 following an organizing effort in December, 1991, led by Lynn Shapiro who became the Executive Director.[3] Glenda Greenwald, who was president of the PAC, was among the women activists predicting that 1992 would be the Year of the Woman, and she argued that the GOP was not sufficiently funding women candidates.[4] The primary purpose was to specifically fund women Republican candidates.[5] Inspired by EMILY's List, a PAC supporting pro-abortion rights Democratic women, Wish claimed 1,600 members after its founding in 1992.[6] In 1994, Victoria Toensing, also a founder of the Wish List, claimed the group had grown to 2,000 members and stated that the PAC would only fund pro-abortion rights Republican women, and would not support anti-abortion Republican women.[7]
The PAC was present at the 1992 Republican National Convention, together with Republicans for Choice and the National Republican Coalition for Choice, and was addressed by then-Representative Olympia Snowe of Maine.[8] In the 1994 election cycle, The Wish List endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison and Olympia Snowe for the Senate, and Susan Collins in her unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in Maine.[7] Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison also served as an honorary board member of the organization.[9] The PAC was present at the 1996 Convention, again with Republicans for Choice, and a survey of Republican delegates at the 1996 Convention found that legal abortion was supported by 24% of the delegates.[10] In 2006, the Wish List supported three Republican women for US Senate, Jeanine Pirro in New York, Olympia Snowe in Maine, and Cynthia Thielen in Hawaii.[11] Although originally supporting exclusively women Republican candidates, the PAC supported Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign in 2008.[12]
The Wish List offers support for candidates by bundling contributions from their members. They have hosted events in DC, being featured on C-SPAN, to promote their candidates.[13] The organization encourages members to donate to two of the eligible candidates during an election cycle. The organization claims to raise over $1 million per year from their supporters.[14] The PAC was among the largest in the US between 1995 and 1996, raising more than $1million for its endorsed candidates.[15] In 2004, the Wish List supported 11 Republican candidates for federal office.[16] However, by 2010, the PAC reported giving only $1,579 to federal candidates, and has reported no contributions to federal candidates since 2012.[11]
This committee is the Republican equivalent to EMILY's List, whose goal is to elect pro-abortion rights Democratic women. Susan B. Anthony List is the anti-abortion counterpart to this organization, whose goal is to assist anti-abortion, or what they describe as "pro-life," women candidates. Research published by Political Research Quarterly found that contributors to EMILY's List typically espoused politically liberal and feminist views while contributors to the Wish List tended to express a libertarian rationale for supporting pro-abortion rights and women's rights movements. The same study also explored political ideology among contributors of the Wish List and found that more than half self-identified as moderate, approximately a third as "somewhat conservative," and 1% as "very conservative."
The Wish List maintained strong alliances with other moderate Republican groups, such as the Republican Majority for Choice, It's My Party Too, and Republicans For Choice. In 2010, the Wish List had officially joined with the Republican Majority for Choice.[17] In 2018, the Republican Majority for Choice ceased to be an active PAC.[18] The Wish List continues to be an active PAC.[19]
| Carolyn Allen, Arizona (deceased) | Barbara Allen, Kansas (No longer a Senator) | Pat Vance, Pennsylvania | |
| Toni Hellon, Arizona (No longer listed) | Jean Kurtis Schodorf, Kansas (No longer a Senator; now a Democrat) | Mary Jo White, Pennsylvania | |
| Nancy Spence, Colorado | Vicki Schmidt, Kansas (No Longer a Senator, elected to be insurance commissioner) | June Gibbs, Rhode Island | |
| Cathy Cook, Connecticut (No longer listed) | Diane Allen, New Jersey | Diane Snelling, Vermont | |
| Judith Freedman, Connecticut | Martha Bark, New Jersey (No longer a Senator) | Wendy Wilton, Vermont (No longer listed) | |
| Liane Sorenson, Delaware | Sue Wilson Beffort, New Mexico | Cheryl Pflug, Washington | |
| Pamela Althoff, Illinois (out of office) | Patricia McGee, New York (No longer a Senator) | ||
| Christine Radogno, Illinois (out of office) | Jane Earll, Pennsylvania |
| Gabrielle LeDoux, Alaska (No longer listed) | Nancy Detert, Florida (deceased) | Julie Brown, New Hampshire | |
| Michele Reagan, Arizona | Barbara Marumoto, Hawaii (no longer in office) | Patricia Dunlap, New Hampshire (No longer listed) | |
| Lynn Daucher, California (No longer a Representative) | Cynthia Thielen, Hawaii (no longer in office) | Stephanie Eaton, New Hampshire | |
| Shirley Horton, California | Jana Kemp, Idaho (No longer listed) | Sheila Francoeur, New Hampshire | |
| Penny Bacchiochi, Connecticut | Suzanne Bassi, Illinois (no longer in office) | Elizabeth Hager, New Hampshire | |
| Toni Boucher, Connecticut | Elizabeth Coulson, Illinois (no longer in office) | Sandra Balomenos Keans, New Hampshire (No longer listed) | |
| Ruth Fahrbach, Connecticut | Carolyn Krause, Illinois (no longer in office) | Charlotte Vandervalk, New Jersey | |
| Livvy Floren, Connecticut | Patricia Reid Lindner, Illinois (no longer in office) | Nancy Calhoun, New York | |
| Lile Gibbons, Connecticut | Rosemary Mulligan, Illinois (no longer in office) | Donna Ferrara, New York (No longer listed) | |
| Sonya Googins, Connecticut | Sandra Pihos, Illinois (no longer in office) | Teresa Sayward, New York | |
| DebraLee Hovey, Connecticut | Vaneta Becker, Indiana (No longer listed) | Dierdre Scozzafava, New York (no longer in office) | |
| Themis Klarides, Connecticut | Phyllis Pond, Indiana (deceased) | Vicki Berger, Oregon | |
| Claudia Powers, Connecticut | Libby Swanson Jacobs, Iowa (No longer listed) | Sue Cornell, Pennsylvania (No longer listed) | |
| Pamela Ziegler Sawyer, Connecticut | Susan Williams Gifford, Massachusetts | Carole Rubley, Pennsylvania (No longer a Representative) | |
| Lenny Winkler, Connecticut | Shirley Gomes, Massachusetts (No longer a Representative) | Carol Mumford, Rhode Island | |
| Donna Stone, Delaware | Karyn Polito, Massachusetts (currently Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts) | Jodi Cutler, South Dakota | |
| Nancy Wagner, Delaware | Susan Pope, Massachusetts | Joyce Errecart, Vermont | |
| Donna Clark, Florida (No longer listed) | Mary Rogeness, Massachusetts | ||
| Faye Culp, Florida | Kathlyn Fares, Missouri |