Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands walked the streets in the suburbs in Huntsville, Alabama looking to convince voters to support her on March 20, 2024. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Powell, a member of the Madison City Council, issued a statement conceding the race and congratulating Lands on her victory.
The rare victory for Democrats in the Deep South state, where Republicans hold all statewide offices and hold a lopsided majority in the Alabama Legislature, comes after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments should be considered as having the same status as children under state law in wrongful death lawsuits.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed a bill into law earlier this month protecting IVF treatments after the February decision prompted some fertility clinics to pause their procedures.
The ruling was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed at a fertility clinic when a patient from the hospital walked into the storage area, removed the embryos from a cryogenic freezer and dropped them on the ground.
Maria Shriver holds hands with First Lady Jill Biden as Kate Cox, who was denied an abortion by the Texas Supreme Court, and Latorya Beasley, who had an IVF embryo transfer canceled following the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision, look on during the State of the Union in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams called the victory a "political earthquake in Alabama."
"This special election is a harbinger of things to come. Republicans across the country have been put on notice that there are consequences to attacks on IVF – from the bluest blue state to the reddest red, voters are choosing to fight for their fundamental freedoms by electing Democrats across the country," Williams said.
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Lands, a licensed counselor, unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022, losing by seven points to Cole. She will finish the term and will be up for election in 2026 when the governor's office and other races will be on the ballot. Her opponent Powell, a former Defense Department budget analyst, had leaned into issues including the economy and infrastructure while Lands centered on abortion and IVF.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
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