Well deserved for the superb VA Del. Adele McClure (D-Arlington) from EMILY’s List!
Virginia State Del. Adele McClure Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Virginia state Del. Adele McClure is a nominee for the 2025 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement:
“State Del. Adele McClure is a groundbreaking public servant who overcame adversity to become a fierce voice for working families in the Virginia state House. When the fate of our country hangs in the balance, it is critical that we have women like state Del. McClure in office who champion legislation protecting reproductive rights, making housing and child care more affordable, and protecting our freedoms. EMILYs List is excited to nominate state Del. McClure for the 2025 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award, and we look forward to watching her continue her impactful work for Virginians.”
State Del. Adele McClure is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 2. She is a first-generation college graduate and the daughter of an early childhood educator and a Filipino immigrant who served in the United States Army. Alongside advocates and members of the Virginia General Assembly, she worked to pass legislation that would reduce gun violence, strengthen workers’ rights, and protect access to reproductive health care. State Del. McClure made history as the first Black person since Reconstruction and the first-ever Asian person elected to represent Arlington County. After becoming a new mom, she saw the urgent need for affordable child care and she secured $25 million in the state budget to create a pilot program that would help businesses partner with employees to make child care more affordable. State Del. McClure was raised in Northern Virginia, where she experienced poverty and periodic homelessness not far from where she currently lives in Arlington. This life experience made her the fierce advocate for vulnerable populations that she is today.
Named in honor of the dedicated and courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office. The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include: former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014; former Boston City Councilwoman, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley in 2015; former Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016; former Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym in 2017; former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in 2018; California Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo in 2019; former Ohio House Minority Leader, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes in 2020; Harris County, Texas Judge Lina Hidalgo in 2021; former Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen in 2022; Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell in 2023; and Michigan state Sen. Sarah Anthony in 2024.
The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input. Online voting will open on March 17, and can be found here.
State Del. McClure is nominated alongside:
Priya Sundareshan, Arizona state senator
Jasmine Clark, Georgia state representative
Cindy Nava, New Mexico state senator
Lindsey Prather, North Carolina state representative
Amanda Cappelletti, Pennsylvania state representative
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EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Over nearly 40 years, EMILYs List has raised nearly $950 million to help Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the most impactful independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 192 women to the House, 29 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,600 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
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