According to reported finance records, Marilyn Lands, the Democratic candidate in the special election for House District 10, has accepted $24,300 from a far-left organization, Persistence PAC. According to finance disclosures, this group has supported many far-left candidates for office in Huntsville local elections and state and federal races.
According to a Facebook post by Persistence PAC, in 2023, it held a fundraising drag show at Hammer Heads Daiquiri Bar in Huntsville called "Drag, Daiquiris, and Democracy."
According to filings, Persistence PAC has spent over $400,000 over the past few years in an attempt to elect what it classifies as "Progressive Democrats" on its website. The site also says it will only support candidates who agree with its views on health care, equality and good governance.
The legislature recently passed, and the governor signed into law a ban on taxpayer resources from funding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and training in Alabama public universities, schools and agencies.
SEE ALSO: Ivey signs into law ban on taxpayer-funded DEI departments
Persistence PAC also has a history, according to their filings, of only supporting far-left candidates who fully support abortion and vehemently oppose Alabama's abortion laws.
Since the Alabama Supreme Court's IVF ruling, Lands has moved further to the left on the abortion issue, and currently, her ads have been strictly discussing abortion. Recent redistricting has turned HD10 into a purple seat, and many political consultants agree that candidates have had to run as close to the center as possible to attract swing voters.
CNN's Dianne Gallagher described the race as "what could be poised as the latest test of the political potency of reproductive rights." She focused on Lands, making abortion a key part of her campaign. Her Republican opponent, Teddy Powell, was featured in the segment, but Lands was given more air time to discuss their key issues.
SEE ALSO: CNN attempts to use abortion, IVF to boost HD10 Democrat Marilyn Lands in special election
Powell said he doesn't see this as a referendum on abortion and added that people in the district are more focused on keeping good schools, economic development flowing and improving infrastructure.
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