On Tuesday, former Virginia Delegate Lashrecse Aird won a Democratic primary race against incumbent state Sen. Joe Morrissey. The race was largely fueled by the debate over abortion rights in the state, as Morrissey had repeatedly sided with Republicans to restrict abortion while Aird is vocally for abortion rights.
Coming nearly one year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the victory for Aird highlights the ways in which abortion is shaping politics in Virginia and across the United States.
Aird declared victory on Tuesday night, saying in her speech to supporters that she will “be a firewall for our reproductive rights in the face of Republican extremists who think they have the right to make decisions about our own bodies.” Aird, staunchly for abortion rights, was supported by many Virginia Democrats, including every Democratic woman in the state’s Senate; a number of abortion-rights organizations also backed her candidacy. Morrissey, meanwhile, is a self-declared “pro-life” Democrat who has regularly sided with Republicans in the state to restrict abortion rights. The contest between Aird and Morrissey had previously been billed as the race that could potentially “decide the fate of abortion rights in Virginia.” Morrissey conceded defeat on Tuesday night, wishing Aird success and indicating that he was retiring from politics.
Morrissey congratulated Aird and said her success will mean success for the district. Says he’s done with politics now, wants to go be a dad and coach his kid’s soccer and football teams. @CBS6
— Jake Burns (@JakeBurnsCBS6) June 21, 2023
She previously served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates beginning in 2015, when a 28-year-old Aird became the youngest woman ever elected to that body. While serving as a delegate, Aird championed legislation to declare to classify racism as a public health emergency in Virginia and pushed “Breonna’s Law” banning police from using no-knock warrants in the aftermath of Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of Kentucky police executing such a warrant. Aird lost her delegate seat in 2021 in a close race. Now, Aird has handily defeated Morrissey with 68% of the vote going in her favor. The result came in stark contrast to the 2019 Democratic primary, in which Morrissey defeated a different Black woman — Rosalyn Dance, a mentor of Aird — en route to winning the state Senate seat. Although Aird will have to face Republican Eric Ditri in November’s general election, she is heavily favored to win in her Democratic-leaning district.
Aird’s win on an abortion-rights platform comes almost one year after the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In the aftermath of that ruling, Republican-controlled states across the country have implemented or attempted to pass significant restrictions on abortion access. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia has attempted to push through legislation banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but the narrowly divided state legislature has so far rejected this and similar restrictions. The control of the legislature could change after November’s election; Aird’s victory is a sign that voters, at least Democratic ones, are being mobilized around the implications that the election will have for abortion rights in the state.
What happens to Aird and other candidates in Virginia will likely reflect the movement of voters in the U.S. on abortion rights after the overturning of Roe. With similar fights going on across the country, abortion will be on the ballot in other states, either directly through ballot initiatives or indirectly through the election of officials who seek to either enshrine or restrict abortion access.
