Marilyn Lands (Alabama Reflector)
A woman from Madison County, AL, won a special election Tuesday night for a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives, and she did it in a way that stunned the nation and many in her state. Marilyn Lands, a Democrat, defeated a Republican incumbent in a bright-red district -- and she did it in overwhelming fashion, garnering 63 percent of the vote for a 25-point margin. Perhaps of most importance nationwide, Lands based her campaign on three primary issues -- abortion rights, access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), and access to contraception, all issues that are deeply personal her.
Having lived as a liberal in Alabama for more than 35 years (arriving as an outsider from Missouri in 1978) -- and having married a native Alabamian, also a liberal, in 1989, women's health-care issues in the state, and around the country, have come to mean an awful lot to me. Unfortunately, I had a front-row seat to watch Alabama shift heavily to the right on politics -- including the "pleasure" of reading seemingly daily stories about politicos, who got their starts as Democrats, but high-tailed it to the Republican Party, apparently convinced Democrats could no longer win in the state, probably for race-based reasons. (Yes, I'm thinking of you Richard Shelby.)
Democrats have not had many victories to celebrate over the past four decades or so, but Lands provided a shocking win Tuesday, and Democrats were plenty happy to say the result ushered in a new day for Alabama.
How did it happen? The New Republic tells the story under the headline "This Alabama Democrat Won a GOP Seat in Stunning Election. Here’s How; Marilyn Lands defeated a Republican in a deep-red Alabama district. Her victory deserves more attention," Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling writes:
A special election in Alabama on Tuesday proved one thing for Democrats: Abortion is a winning issue.
Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands defeated her Republican opponent, Madison City Council member Teddy Powell, for a state House seat in a deep-red district after she made abortion and in vitro fertilization cornerstones of her campaign.
“Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama’s no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception,” Lands said in a statement after her victory.
Lands secured a whopping 63 percent of the vote—a 25-point lead—by aggressively going against the grain, telling voters she supports a repeal of Alabama’s abortion bans while sharing her own experience with abortion two decades ago, when she received a devastating diagnosis: a genetic defect called trisomy.
“Twenty years ago I was able to get the care I needed. My three doctors told me this is the procedure I needed, that my life was at risk. I was able to go to my own hospital with my own doctor there, I didn’t have to leave my community,” Lands told The New Republic’s Greg Sargent. “And to think we’ve gone 20 years backwards. I can’t believe that. I’ve seen, in my lifetime, women make great strides in many areas. And, I’m just, I’m outraged that 20 years later women do not have the same freedoms and protections that I had.”
The special election also sees Lands take the seat back from a Republican she lost to in 2022—former state Representative David Cole, who resigned from the elected position after pleading guilty to voting fraud charges.
It could be the beginning of a turning tide for a state that witnessed an immense backlash after the Alabama Supreme Court voted 7–2 to ascribe rights to embryos, effectively restricting IVF access across the state. Still, Democrats have a long way to go before they have a stronghold in the state legislature. Republicans currently hold a 75–27 advantage over Democrats in the state.
A report at AL.com (The Birmingham News) provides more details about the race: Howard Koplowitz writes
Democrat Marilyn Lands defeated Republican Teddy Powell in a special election Tuesday night for a state House seat in north Alabama that drew national attention.
Lands, a licensed professional counselor, flipped the seat from red to blue by besting Powell, a Madison city councilman, 62 percent to 38 percent with 100 percent of the precincts in District 10 reporting, according to unofficial results posted on the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office website.
The race drew national interest against the backdrop of the controversial Alabama State Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are considered children under state law.
The seat became vacant when ex-Rep. David Cole resigned after pleading guilty to illegal voting.Lands, who lost to Cole in 2022, made the ruling a focus of her campaign for the district covering parts of Madison County.
“We need to continue to protect at this point where we are at with the right to contraception,” she told the Huntsville Times Lede.
Of her victory Tuesday, Lands said, “Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama’s no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception.”
Lands, who lost to Cole in 2022, made the embryo ruling a focus of her campaign for the district covering parts of Madison County.“We need to continue to protect at this point where we are at with the right to contraception,” she told the Huntsville Times Lede.
Of her victory Tuesday, Lands said, “Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama’s no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception.”
The special election also sees Lands take the seat back from a Republican she lost to in 2022—former state Representative David Cole, who resigned from the elected position after pleading guilty to voting fraud charges. It could be the beginning of a turning tide for a state that witnessed an immense backlash after the Alabama Supreme Court voted 7–2 to ascribe rights to embryos, effectively restricting IVF access across the state. Still, Democrats have a long way to go before they have a stronghold in the state legislature. Republicans currently hold a 75–27 advantage over Democrats in the state.Alabama Democratic Party officials were exultant over the kind of big victory they have not experienced much in recent years:
Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the Democratic Party organization that focuses on state legislative races, called Lands’ victory a “political earthquake.”
“Tonight’s victory is a political earthquake in Alabama – the heart of Republican territory and ground zero for the most egregious attacks on our fundamental freedoms,” she said. “In the first real test of backlash from voters on attacks on reproductive care and IVF, Alabama voters showed up in force to support Democrat Marilyn Lands, who ran courageously and unabashedly as a defender of reproductive freedoms.”
Powell thanked his supporters and campaign volunteers in a statement conceding the race.
“We are proud of the campaign we ran,” he said. “We ran a tough and respectful race and that is something we are incredibly proud of. Our state has so much to offer and I believe if we can come together, we can accomplish great things.”
