With the 2024 presidential election nearing and a Democratic administration responsible for the crises facing America, newly elected Alabama state Rep. Marilyn Lands (D) said her victory signals good things coming for the Democratic Party in a state that has heavily favored Republicans for years.
Lands’ campaign was centered on in vitro fertilization (IVF) protections. The newly elected state Democrat openly spoke about having an abortion and said she hopes her victory is the beginning of the end of the GOP’s majority in Alabama’s legislature.
While speaking to the Daily Beast, Lands said her victory could signal good things for Democrats in the 2026 election.
“It gives me a lot of hope for this state in 2026,” Lands told the outlet. “I hope that this will be the start of us winning some more seats in 2026 and really beginning to break that [Republican] super majority.”
Lands’ win was historic since she flipped a seat in a deep red state after a special election was conducted when former state Rep. David Cole (R) pleaded guilty to felony voter fraud in August 2023, according to the Washington Examiner. Lands defeated her Republican challenger by 25 points.
Marilyn Lands on winning a special election Tuesday for a state House seat as a Democrat in deep-red Alabama:
“It's a victory tonight for women, for families, for Alabama in general. … It feels like it's the start of a change here. And I think we'll see more change in 2026.” pic.twitter.com/QSF5j1z8e0
— The Recount (@therecount) March 27, 2024
The newly elected state congresswoman said she believes her victory will bring the discussion of IVF protections to Congress. Her stance on the issue comes after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that cryogenically frozen embryos are “extrauterine children.”
“I think our state has made this about national politics,” Lands said. “When Alabama implemented the [abortion] trigger law here, we saw that spread to other states very fast. I am now afraid that other things we’ve done here — the IVF ruling, contraception … I don’t want this to be Alabama’s legacy.”
Lands’ victory comes in a district that former President Donald Trump won by over one percentage point in the 2020 presidential election.
Democrats in the state have said they hope Lands’ unprecedented win is a wake-up call for Alabama and nationwide concerning reproductive rights and protection.
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign said the election demonstrated that Alabama voters know who is “to blame” for barring their “right to grow their family however they choose,” according to the Washington Examiner.
