Democrat Marilyn Lands won a shocking victory in Alabama after she defeated Republican Teddy Powell in a special election for a seat in Alabama’s state house.
Lands was able to garner 63% of the vote to Powell’s 37%.
In 2022 former state Rep. David Cole (R) won the seat with 52% of the vote to Lands’ 45 percent which makes Lands’ victory a 33-point swing for Democrats.
Many political commentators are contributing the flip to Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling on IVF.
Here’s Charlie Kirk’s take:
After the AL election, Charlie Kirk is in a panic to try and convince right-wingers to adopt a “middle of the road approach” on IVF: “What a shame it would be if we have an underwhelming election this Nov because we can’t get our act together on this issue.” pic.twitter.com/U2ar6Yunln
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 28, 2024
Here’s what Newsweek reported:
Democrat Marilyn Lands won an upset victory in Alabama on Tuesday when she defeated Republican and Madison City Council member Teddy Powell in a special election for the Alabama state House that represents a 33-point swing for Democrats.
Lands won the election with 63 percent of the vote to Powell’s 37 percent with all precincts reporting in the race for House District 10. The Democrat made abortion rights and access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) major themes of her campaign.
This is the first election in Alabama since the state Supreme Court’s ruling in February that threatened access to IVF and a major win for Democrats in a deep red state.
Lands previously ran against state Representative David Cole for the same seat and lost. Coles, a Republican, won 52 percent of the vote to Lands’ 45 percent. The Democrat’s victory on Tuesday represents a 33-point swing in her favor.
Cole resigned from the state House in August 2023 after pleading guilty to a voter fraud charge.
Final results:
Lands (D): 62.3%
Powell (R): 37.5%D+24.8. Larger than Doug Jones's margin in this district in 2017. https://t.co/LubIyCRYRN pic.twitter.com/vIsccG8JgT
— World's Biggest Crosstab Hater #BanCrosstabs (@schlagteslinks) March 27, 2024
Democrat wins Alabama special election considered bellwether on IVF, abortion https://t.co/bWUlPmuW2i
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 28, 2024
Per Fox News:
Democrat Marilyn Lands won an Alabama legislature special election on Tuesday considered a bellwether contest on abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF) ahead of the 2024 November elections.
Lands, who made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign in deep red Alabama early on by launching an ad in which she shared the story of her own abortion decades ago, defeated Republican Teddy Powell to win the open state House District 10, The Associated Press reported, citing unofficial returns Tuesday.
The suburban district considered one of the few purple, swing seats encompassing parts of Huntsville and Madison in the deep red state was vacated when former Republican state Rep. David Cole pleaded guilty to voter fraud last year amid allegations he rented a closet-size space to fraudulently run for office in a district where he did not live.
Powell, a member of the Madison City Council, issued a statement conceding the race and congratulating Lands on her victory.
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