State Senate District 7 Democratic candidate Kim Keiserman, a Port Washington resident campaigning for greater school funding, reproductive rights and lowering taxes, has been endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Empire State Votes Political Action Committee.
“At a time when our health, rights, and freedoms are being relentlessly attacked around the country – we need state leaders who will advance bold policies and further New York’s legacy as a leader in the fight to protect and expand reproductive autonomy,” Robin Chappelle Golston, Chair of the Planned Parenthood Empire State Votes PAC, said in a release.
Chappelle Golston said Keiserman would be an “enthusiastic champion” of reproductive health care and defend reproductive rights.
“I am deeply honored to receive this endorsement, which is personal to me as a longtime fighter for reproductive freedom,” Keiserman said in a release. “I look forward to championing initiatives that expand access to reproductive services and medication, defend reproductive autonomy, and work to ensure the New York Equal Rights Amendment is successfully ratified this November.”
Keiserman faces fellow Democrat Brad Schwartz in the race to challenge state Sen. Jack Martins, a Republican, who is running for re-election.
Keiserman and Schwartz are the only Democrats in the race, and the primary winner will face off against Martins.
Schwartz, who ran in the 2018 race but dropped out before the primary against former state Sen. Anna Kaplan, is a former television editor and producer with a Ph.D in public policy.
The district, which includes much of the North Shore and the Town of Oyster Bay as far east as Woodbury, is currently represented by Martins, who flipped the district red in 2022.
Planned Parenthood Empire State Votes Political Action Committee’s endorsement of Keiserman comes a week after Everytown for Gun Safety’s endorsement.
Keiserman has also garnered endorsements from a slew of local Democratic leaders of the past and present.
This includes Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Nassau County and New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, state Assemblymember Gina Sillitti, former state Sen. Anna Kaplan, Democratic National Committeeman Robert Zimmerman and Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton.
Keiserman is an education consultant, a commissioner for the North Hempstead Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the chairwoman of the Baxter Estates Planning Board.
She also is co-president of the Baxter’s Pond Foundation and president of the Port Washington Democratic Club.
Her campaign platform encompasses advocating for reproductive rights, investing in public education, fostering gun safety legislation, lowering taxes and bolstering affordability, protecting the environment and standing up against bigotry.
Keiserman’s intent in running is to give Long Island a seat at the table at the state level to ensure their voices are heard, according to her campaign.
The primary election for party nominees is June 25. The general election will then be held on Nov. 5.