Abortion rights advocate Marilyn Lands won a special election for the Alabama state legislature in the deeply conservative state of Alabama, but Democrats say the victory shows voters' backlash against extreme reproductive restrictions imposed by Republicans. It is claimed that there is.
Lands, a Democrat, decisively defeated Republican Teddy Powell on Tuesday to win a vacant House seat in a suburban district long held by Republicans, despite becoming a political moderate. She said her victory was celebrated by Democrats and highlighted the importance of reproductive rights as a national issue ahead of the 2024 election.
“Voters want something different. I think they're tired of women's freedoms and reproductive health care not being addressed,” Lands told The Associated Press in a phone interview. .
Alabama prohibits abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape. Lands' victory comes weeks after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling temporarily halted IVF services in the state. Equating frozen embryos to children.
Lands, a licensed mental health counselor who also campaigned on issues of education and economic development, was an outspoken critic of the state's abortion ban, sometimes taking things very personally. She shared her experience of having an abortion 20 years ago after genetic testing revealed that her baby had the genetic disorder trisomy 13 and would not survive.
Lands said she decided to tell her story after speaking with a woman who had to leave Alabama to get an abortion after receiving a similar fetal diagnosis.
“I realized there were similarities in our stories. And of course, I shared my story with her. This story is about how, 20 years later, we're going backwards and women's freedom is… It really contrasts the decline,” Lands said.
Lands said when she knocked on doors around the district, she was struck by how many women were volunteering their stories. She was also like herself. For some, it is associated with miscarriages and decreased fertility.
“I feel like a lot of women's health issues and family health issues make people feel very isolated. And maybe part of what's going on here is people realize how common this kind of thing is. We hope that this opens up a dialogue to understand what's going on,” Lands said.
The victory was a victory for Democrats in the Deep South state, where Republicans hold all statewide offices and hold a lopsided majority in the Legislature.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, President Joe Biden's 2024 campaign manager, said the results in Alabama “should be a huge warning to President Trump” and that “voters will not tolerate the president's attacks on reproductive health care.” Probably.''
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wall disputed that the outcome of the race foreshadowed an impact beyond the district. He said it was a low-turnout election in “purple districts where Democrats always have a chance.”
“To pretend that this election reflects Alabama as a whole is disingenuous and shows either a lack of understanding of the political landscape or an attempt to mislead voters.” Wall said.
Lands' victory came in a suburban district considered more politically moderate than other Republican-held districts. The Madison County area includes parts of Madison and Huntsville, home to the Army's Redstone Arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. In 2020, former President Donald Trump won 62% of the vote in all of Alabama, but just under 53% in Madison County.
Just under 6,000 votes were cast in Tuesday's special election, compared to more than 14,000 votes cast in the 2022 special election in which Lands lost to Republican David Cole. The council seat became vacant again after Cole resigned and pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges for renting a closet-sized space to fraudulently run for office. district where he did not live.
Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, said Lands' victory was spurred in part by dissatisfaction with extremist policies introduced by the state's Republican Party.
“They've gone too far. You're talking about an activist government. This is a government in Alabama that's trying to invade every aspect of people's lives,” Jones said.
He said Lands' victory could be a positive sign for Democrats in upcoming Alabama elections, but cautioned against going too far with what it would mean. Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special election in 2017, but lost to incumbent Sen. Tommy Tuberville in 2020.
“So people looked at my election in 2017 like, 'Oh my god, we upset Alabama Blue.' Well, that's not the case. And the truth is, I I’m not one to advocate flipping the entire state in one direction or the other,” Jones said. He added that one-party rule is not good for the country, regardless of political party.
“We needed competition, and Marilyn provided that,” Jones said.
