Endorsements

For more than 40 years, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has used legal advocacy to ensure animal welfare laws are enforced, up-to-date, and humane. We created the Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund to get at the source – the laws themselves, and the lawmakers behind them. 

From the halls of Congress, Governors’ mansions, and in state legislatures across the country, we need more animal champions in office. The Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund’s endorsement slate is intended to help pro-animal voters make informed choices about how their votes can and will affect all animals. 

How will we make our decisions? Here are our endorsement criteria:

• Voting Record: For candidates who have previously served in elected office, voting record on issues of animal protection will be a primary consideration. We look at pro-animal bills a candidate introduced, co-sponsored, voted for, or publicly supported or opposed.
• Demonstrated Concern: Both for candidates who have and have not previously held office, we consider any animal protection statements, advocacy work, or background materials in our holistic evaluation. 
• Questionnaire responses: In races of interest, we send questionnaires to potential candidates for endorsement. We ask about experience and their history of animal advocacy, positions on priority issues, and for any other reason they feel they have earned our endorsement.
• Race Context: The issues affecting animals aren’t the same across all regions, states, or races. Our endorsement criteria and issue priorities are tailored to the particular context of the candidate’s race. For example, we prioritize farmed animal protection for candidates running in districts with a large farmed animal presence.

Know someone you think would be a strong animal advocate who is running for office? Tell us! Nominate a candidate for an Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund endorsement!