Women launch pro-lesbian super PAC

Following President Barack Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage and an election cycle in which the “war on women” has taken center stage, a new pro-lesbian super PAC is planning to raise $1 million to invest in races around the country. The group, LPAC, officially launches on Wednesday and is the first super PAC of its kind, said its chairwoman and treasurer Sarah Schmidt. LPAC, Schmidt said, is “values based” on two fronts: it will advocate LGBT issues and women’s sexual and reproductive rights. Its criteria for candidates — men or women, gay or straight — are that they support equal rights for LGBT women and their families, and that they also back sexual and reproductive rights for women and access to health care. At this point, LPAC has yet to finalize a list of candidates the group will endorse; the focus, Schmidt said, will be on state-level races and initiatives as well as House and Senate races. But it does have a few star backers that will help it raise funds. The group has already received pledged support from public figures and celebrities like “Glee” actress Jane Lynch and former tennis player and equal rights advocate Billie Jean King. “This year we have seen politicians repeatedly support policies that harm women,” Lynch said in a release. “It is important to me to elect leaders who care about issues that impact women and their families. That’s why I support LPAC.” One top backer of the group is Laura Ricketts, a top Obama donor who is gay and is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs. “I support LPAC because courageous elected officials who support women’s rights, fairness, and equality for all of us deserve our unconditional support,” she said in a release. Ricketts is the daughter of Nebraska billionaire Joe Ricketts, who bankrolls another super PAC that earlier this year considered but ultimately rejected funding an ad campaign attacking President Barack Obama over his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.