AL-HD10: Alabama Democrat betting IVF will help her win a battleground special election
A special election for an Alabama state House seat on Tuesday will serve as an early marker of how politically salient the sudden battle over access to in-vitro fertilization will be ahead of this year’s high-stakes contests for Congress and the White House.
Look no further than the divergent strategies of Democrat Marilyn Lands and Republican Teddy Powell, a city councilmember, who are facing off for Alabama’s 10th state House District, a competitive seat in the northern part of the state. Lands is basing her message on reproductive health after running (and losing) on education, health care and the economy two years ago, while Powell’s team cut an ad on IVF but chose not to air it.
Lands lost the race by around 7 points in 2022 to Republican David Cole, who resigned over the summer after pleading guilty to voter fraud. In 2020, former President Donald Trump narrowly won this district, and former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones — who is supporting Lands — won it by around 5 points. The race won’t change much in the state House, as Republicans currently have a supermajority.
But her campaign is trying something different this time around: bringing abortion-rights messaging to the forefront — especially after the state Supreme Court ruling there that imperiled IVF and grabbed national headlines, before the legislature passed a law restoring access.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/25/alabama-ivf-house-lands-powell-00148791
