Today, DNC Chair Ken Martin hosted a press call alongside Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale and Reproductive Freedom for All President & CEO, and member of the DNC’s People’s Cabinet, Mini Timmaraju, on the importance of the high-stakes Supreme Court retention races in Pennsylvania. During the call, the speakers discussed how Pennsylvanians’ access to abortion and abortion funding, voting rights, and gerrymandering are all on the line if we do not fight back against MAGA billionaires’ attempts to buy our courts and retain our justices. 

In this critical stretch until Election Day, the DNC is all-in to support Pennsylvania Democrats’ efforts to mobilize voters and retain Justices Donahue, Dougherty, and Wecht on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 

Find highlights of the call below: 

“Our courts are meant to be independent checks on power. They aren’t political tools to protect the powerful, and that’s why, to meet the new moment we’re in, Democrats are throwing out the old playbook and standing up to fight. We’re not going to roll over on this. Democrats are contesting every race up and down the ballot, and we’re organizing everywhere, so that hard-working Pennsylvanians have someone fighting for them, because working families deserve better than the devastating consequences of Trump’s agenda,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “The DNC is all hands on deck to make sure that Democrats can reach Pennsylvania voters and run through the tape during these final two weeks. … We will continue to reach every voter to mobilize our strong base and to organize in every corner of the state to retain Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court justices, Justice Donahue, Justice Doherty, and Justice Wecht.”

“We as Democrats are fighting back to make the case that our justices have done exactly what they said they’re going to do, which is uphold the Pennsylvania constitution; stand up for reproductive freedom; make sure that every child has access to fair and equitable education funding; making sure that our voting rights are protected; and making sure labor rights and environmental rights are protected. They’ve done exactly what they’ve said they were going to do,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale. “A MAGA billionaire has decided to invest tens of millions of dollars in this. And so we, as Democrats, we’re not going to sit back and let that happen without a fight.”

“Justices Donahue, Dougherty, and Wecht are up for retention, and they have proven time and time again that they will uphold the rights and freedoms of Pennsylvanians if they’re retained, and all three have ruled to protect abortion in Pennsylvania. So as the GOP continues to strip away access to abortion care and other critical health care at the federal level, now is the time for us to invest in fair-minded judges and justices across the country who will uphold our freedoms,” said Reproductive Freedom for All President & CEO Mini Timmaraju. “The future of abortion access in Pennsylvania depends on the future of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and its ability to serve as a critical line of defense against the GOP’s efforts to ban abortion care. State courts can make or break access to care, and reproductive freedom is on the line here in Pennsylvania, but also nationwide. A single loss in this election could completely shift the balance of the court and put reproductive freedom in jeopardy from further attacks from state Republicans and Donald Trump.”