The national media has taken a keen interest in the election of a Democrat to the Alabama House of Representatives. I have received several inquiries from national news and political publications seeking explanations and analysis of this phenomenon. They are particularly intrigued by the fact that women's reproductive rights were a central focus of the special election in Huntsville.

Democrat Rep. Marilyn Lands won a landslide victory in Madison County's 10th Congressional District in a special election last month, making women's reproductive rights a central issue of her campaign.

Alabama is arguably one of the most Republican states in the U.S. Every statewide elected office is held by a Republican, and the Republican dominance of the Alabama Legislature is classified as a super-Republican majority, so the lines are drawn in favor of Republican incumbents.

But I would add that Democratic incumbents are also complicit, willing to go along with Republicans in drawing districts that favor them because it means they get to keep their seats. The unfair drawing of Alabama congressional seats is done to protect incumbents, not to help a political party.

When the dust settled after the last reapportionment, it was recognized and acknowledged that there are only two House seats in the state that are battlegrounds and have lopsided voting: Montgomery and Huntsville, which was won by Democrat Marilyn Lands in a special election last month.

This Huntsville neighborhood is truly unusual; it reflects more than just Alabama, it reflects the country as a whole.

Huntsville itself really does feel like another state, as if the people of North Carolina's Research Triangle and California's Silicon Valley were all brought together in North Alabama in the ultra-high-tech aerospace city of Huntsville.

Congressman Rand's 10th District seat is in the heart of Redstone Arsenal and has the highest percentage of people with doctorates in the nation. In fact, a few years ago I spoke to the Huntsville Rotary Club. It was the largest Rotary club I've ever seen, probably 300 people. They met at the Von Braun Civic Center.

When I stood up to speak, what I saw was one of the most intelligent and sophisticated Rotary clubs I have ever seen. So I began by asking the audience, “How many of you have an advanced degree, like a master's or doctorate in aerospace engineering?” Nearly half of the participants raised their hands. As I began to share anecdotes and legends from Alabama's political past, the audience looked at me as if I was talking about the politics of Mars.

So Marilyn Lands' district is very purple, reflecting the situation nationwide: The 2020 presidential election saw Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden split almost evenly.

Special elections also blur party lines. Without a Republican heavyweight like Trump or Gov. Ivey at the top of the list, voters are more likely to simply choose their party line. Special elections, like nonpartisan mayoral elections, are local votes for the person running the election.

Marilyn Lands was a better candidate and campaigner than her Republican opponent. She was an experienced campaigner. She narrowly lost to her Republican opponent in the 2022 election. She worked much harder than her opponent. She ran a one-issue campaign. She ran on women's reproductive rights, and that worked and resonated.

So my answer to the question asked by the national media, “Does this bode badly for Republicans nationally in this year's election?” is a resounding “Yes.” Abortion is a lose-lose issue for Republicans. Roe v. Wade It was overturned in June 2022, almost two years ago.

The evidence is fact. Republicans have lost every election they should have won since then. The issue was defeated 2-1 by the voters of Kansas, the most conservative state in America. Trump has wisely avoided the issue. This will be the Achilles heel for the Republican Party in November. Mainstream women voters, Democrats, Independents, and of course Republican women, want the right to make that choice when it comes to reproductive rights.

Marilyn Lands may have been the better candidate and narrowly won this special election, but she would not have won this swing purple national seat by a landslide 62-38 vote had she not run on reproductive issues.

see you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama's leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 newspapers across Alabama. He served as a state representative for 16 years. Steve can be contacted at [email protected].