The day contraception activist Sandra Fluke is set to appear with President Barack Obama at a campaign stop to highlight the president’s focus on women’s issues, Republican candidate Mitt Romney announced his Women for Mitt Coalition.
The “coalition” is comprised of many familiar Romney supporters, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a slew of female Republican lawmakers and the wives of a number of Romney’s former GOP nomination challengers.
“I’m honored to have these strong and talented women on my team and am humbled by their support,” Romney said in a statement Wednesday. “Across the country, people are struggling as a result of President Obama’s poor stewardship over our economy. I’m grateful to these women for joining me in my campaign to replace this administration’s failed policies with a pro-growth vision for our extraordinary nation.”
Romney’s own wife, Ann Romney, is the new coalition’s chairman.
“I’m proud to be heading up this effort to reach out to women voters,” said Ann Romney. “There is no doubt that women will play a critical role in determining the outcome of this election, and that’s something Mitt understands well. He also knows how to turn around this economy so that it will better serve the interests of women and families across America.” (SEE ALSO: DNC apologizes for offending Ann Romney’s horse)
While the Washington Free Beacon has been running a series on the salary inequities between men and women in Democratic offices and campaigns, Democrats and the Obama campaign has been attacking Romney for being out of touch with the fairer sex, especially due to his more conservative positions on issues like Planned Parenthood and health care reform.
Washington Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Women for Mitt honorary co-chair, said the election should be about Obama’s leadership failures and not the so-called “War on Women.”
“All across America, women are tired of the President’s failed policies,” said McMorris Rodgers in a statement. “Since President Obama can’t run on his record, he’s resorted to scare tactics to distract and divide women – namely, the so-called ‘War on Women,’ which is a total myth. The women of America aren’t falling for it. They want real solutions and real leadership. Mitt Romney will provide that leadership.”
Former Massachusetts Lieutenant Gov. Kerry Healey added that the former governor has a clear record of supporting women. (RELATED: Sandra Fluke: Romney will ‘never stand up for women’)
“During the time he was Governor, women composed half of Gov. Romney’s cabinet and many more served as highly-respected, top-level advisers,” said Healey. “I’m confident that a Romney presidency would continue to show that same kind of appreciation for the value of women’s voices and women’s skills to the project of renewing our country.”
Women for Mitt National Advisory Board
Condoleezza Rice, Former Secretary of State
Kerry Healey, former Lt. Governor of Massachusetts
Karen Santorum, Mother of 7, attorney, author, and former neonatal intensive care nurse
Callista Gingrich, President, Gingrich Productions
Mary Pawlenty, Former First Lady of Minnesota
Anita Perry, First Lady of Texas
Rachel Campos Duffy, author and television host
Sharon Day, Co-Chair, Republican National Committee
Paula Speers, Co-founder, Health Advances
Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
Jovita Carranza, former Vice President of Air Operations for UPS
Supriya Jindal, First Lady of Louisiana and Founder of the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children
Catherine Reynolds, Chairman of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation
Dema Guinn, Former First Lady of Nevada
Aldona Wos, Former Ambassador to Estonia
Women for Mitt Honorary Co-Chairs
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas
Senator Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Senator Olympia Snowe, Maine
Senator Susan Collins, Maine
Governor Jan Brewer, Arizona
Governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma
Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina
Governor Susana Martinez, New Mexico
Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman, Indiana
Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, Florida
Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey, Alabama
Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, Ohio
Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, Wisconsin
Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Florida
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, New York
Rep. Candice Miller, Michigan
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis, Wyoming
Rep. Diane Black, Tennessee
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington
Rep. Jean Schmidt, Ohio
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
Rep. Judy Biggert, Illinois
Rep. Kay Granger, Texas
Rep. Kristi Noem, South Dakota
Rep. Lynn Jenkins, Kansas
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Rep. Martha Roby, Alabama
Rep. Mary Bono Mack, California
Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota
Rep. Nan Hayworth, New York
Rep. Renee Ellmers, North Carolina
Rep. Sandy Adams, Florida
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, Wyoming
Rep. Sue Myrick, North Carolina
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Missouri
Rep. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
State Senator Alberta Darling, Wisconsin
