A women's political group threw its support behind a Republican candidate for a North Carolina special election this week.
Winning for Women Action Fund (WFW AF) announced in a press release its support for Dr. Joan Perry (R., N.C.). Perry is running in a special election to represent North Carolina's Third Congressional District.
She faces competition from a dozen Republicans, six Democrats, and two Libertarians.
In a press release, WFW AF announced a six-figure ad buy for Perry. "We're proud to support Dr. Joan Perry as part of WFW AF's mission to elect more Republican women," it said.
Perry is a medical doctor and first time political candidate. "As a pediatrician, I've learned to listen first," she said. "That's the only way to solve the problem! By listening first to constituents and community stakeholders, I can then go to work on their behalf."
Rebecca Schuller, Winning for Women's executive director, described the endorsement as a push against a trend of overlooked female Republicans. "The midterm elections presented a harsh truth - qualified Republican women will continue to fall through the cracks," Schuller said. Those women are competitive when they "get the support they need from start to finish."
Winning for Women describes itself as an organization "dedicated to identifying and creating paths forward for women leaders who share core values of economic freedom and strong national security." The organization seeks "to organize and amplify the voices of women across the country who embrace such, broadening the audience for a strong conservative message."
Winning for Women has accused left-wing organizations like EMILY's List of hostility towards women running without a progressive agenda.
WFW spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas accused EMILY's List of jeopardizing the share of women in Congress in response to the organization's 2020 target list.
"For a group that claims to empower women, EMILY's List is already targeting five of the just 13 Republican women in the House," Perez-Cubas said. "Winning For Women will be supporting qualified conservative women in the primaries and highlighting the issues that women care about, like affordable health care, the economy and national security."
Candidates are vying to replace the late Rep. Walter B. Jones (R., N.C.), who died in office in February after eleven terms.
Schuller described the district as WFW's first opportunity to power more women into Congress. "NC-03 is our first opportunity to prove that Republicans are serious about playing in primaries to elect more women," she said.
Voters head to the polls April 30 to fill the seat. Early voting ends this Friday. No woman has ever represented the district.