Marilyn Lands, who campaigned for abortion rights in deeply conservative Alabama, won a special election for the Alabama Legislature, in a victory that Democrats say illustrates voters’ reaction to extreme reproductive restrictions imposed by the Republicans.
Lands, a Democrat, decisively defeated Republican Teddy Powell on Tuesday to win the open House seat in a suburban district that, while increasingly politically moderate, had long been held by the GOP. His victory was celebrated by Democrats, who said it underscores the importance of reproductive rights as an issue nationwide ahead of the 2024 elections.
Marilyn Lands, a Democrat who ran a campaign focused on reproductive rights, is photographed Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Marilyn Lands via AP)
“Voters want something different and 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 several weeks after in vitro fertilization services were temporarily suspended in the state after the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that equated frozen embryos with children.
Lands, a licensed mental health counselor, had also campaigned on issues of education and economic development, but took direct aim at the state’s abortion ban, at times invoking the deeply personal to do so. She shared her story of having an abortion two decades ago after genetic testing determined the baby had trisomy 13, a genetic disorder, and could not survive.
Lands said she made the decision to tell her own story after speaking with a woman who had to leave Alabama to have an abortion after receiving a similar fetal diagnosis.
“I saw the parallels in our story. And, of course, I shared my story with her. The story really contrasts with the fact that two decades later, we’ve gone backwards and women have fewer freedoms,” Lands said.
While knocking on doors across the district, Lands said she was surprised by the number of women who volunteered their own stories. Some were like his. Others involved miscarriages or struggles with fertility.
“I feel like a lot of these women’s health and family issues can be very isolating for people. And I hope that maybe part of what’s happening here is that we’re opening a dialogue for people to realize how common that these kinds of things are,” Lands said.
The victory was a victory for Democrats in the Deep South state, where Republicans hold all state offices and a lopsided majority in the Legislature.
Abortion rights supporters protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in front of the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama, on June 24, 2022 (Jake Crandall / The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign manager, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, said the results in Alabama “should serve as an important warning sign to Trump” that “voters will not tolerate his attacks on reproductive health care.”
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl questioned whether the outcome of the race is an indicator with implications beyond that district. He said it was a low-turnout election in a “purple district where Democrats always had a chance.”
“Pretending that this election reflects the entire state of Alabama is disingenuous and shows a lack of understanding of the political landscape or an attempt to mislead voters,” Wahl said.
Lands’ victory came in a suburban district that is considered more politically moderate than other GOP-controlled districts. The Madison County district includes parts of Madison and Huntsville, which is home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. While former President Donald Trump won 62% of the vote in Alabama in 2020, he won just under 53% of the vote in Madison County.
Just under 6,000 votes were cast in Tuesday’s special election, compared to more than 14,000 cast in 2022, when Lands lost to Republican David Cole. The legislative seat was open again after Cole resigned and pleaded guilty to one count of voter fraud for renting a closet-sized space to fraudulently run for office in a 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 fueled in part by frustration with extremist policies pursued by the state Republican Party.
“They’re going too far. You’re talking about an activist government. This is a government in Alabama that wants to invade every aspect of people’s lives,” Jones said.
He said Lands’ victory could be a positive sign for Democrats in future elections in Alabama, but cautioned against overreaching on what he represents. Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a 2017 special election, but lost in 2020 to incumbent U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
“I mean, people saw my election in 2017 as, ‘Oh my gosh, we turned Alabama blue.’ Well, that’s not the case. And I’m actually not someone who advocates changing the entire one way or another,” Jones said. He added that one-party government, regardless of party, has not been good for the State.
“We need competition, and that’s what Marilyn gave us,” Jones said.