MSNBC.com
By Anna Merod
Trailblazing is a common quality among the six newly announced nominees for EMILY’s List’s third annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award, including the first Latina and youngest woman to be elected the House Majority Leader in Colorado and the first Asian-American woman in the Michigan legislature.
The award honors “an extraordinary woman serving in local or state office.” Five female state representatives and one female county clerk were nominated for this year’s award, according to a statement from EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to raising money to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates. The group will be seeking input from the community to choose a winner by collecting votes online. The Rising Star Award recognizes a woman serving in office who not only breaks glass ceilings but also ”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.”
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Meanwhile, Pennsylvania state Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky was the first woman elected to represent 161st House District in the state. Krueger-Braneky has also helped shift the state supreme court in Pennsylvania to a pro-choice majority during her time in office.