Louisiana US House challenger’s ad shows her giving birth

Oct 4, 2022, 12:04 PM | Updated: 1:08 pm

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Democratic challenger to U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise in a Louisiana congressional race has released a campaign ad on social media that includes video of her giving birth.

Katie Darling’s ad shows her traveling in September from her family farm in St. Tammany parish to the hospital, where she grips the side of a bed while in labor.

While Darling’s ad garnered more than 1 million views and nearly 6,000 retweets as of Tuesday afternoon, she faces an uphill battle for a seat Republicans have held since 1977.

In a voiceover, Darling highlights her concerns about climate change, Louisiana underperforming in education and the state’s abortion ban.

“Louisiana deserves better than the path it’s on,” Darling says in the video. “I want that better path,” she adds, “for you” – as the ad pans to her husband in the delivery room. “For her,” as a the video shows her six-year-old daughter. “And for him,” she says directly into the camera from her hospital bed as she cradles her newborn.

Darling, a businesswoman, said that the U.S, Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade last summer is what spurred her to launch a bid for Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District, which includes suburban New Orleans, the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain south to the Mississippi River delta.

“We should be putting pregnant women at ease, not at risk,” Darling said in the ad.

The 36-year-old mother has placed abortion rights as a priority in her campaign. The only exceptions to Louisiana’s abortion ban are if there is substantial risk of death or impairment to the patient if they continue with the pregnancy and in the case of “medically futile” pregnancies — when the fetus has a fatal abnormality. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Scalise has held the seat since 2008 and is seeking his ninth consecutive term. He reported more than $8 million cash on hand in his most recent campaign finance report. Darling has not yet reported how much she has raised.

Howard Kearney, a libertarian, is also running for the seat.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz listens during a news conference, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washi...

Associated Press

US Border Patrol chief is retiring after seeing through end of Title 42 immigration restrictions

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol announced Tuesday that he was retiring, after seeing through a major policy shift that seeks to clamp down on illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 pandemic restrictions.

2 days ago

FILE - President Joe Biden talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on the House steps as...

Associated Press

House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate

The House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.

2 days ago

Sean Bickings (Family Photo via city of Tempe)...

Associated Press

Family of man who drowned last year in Tempe Town Lake files wrongful death lawsuit

The family of a man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake a year ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Wednesday, noting that its police department doesn't have a policy requiring officers to go into the water to save someone.

2 days ago

(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

Associated Press

Florida police search for 3 gunmen who wounded 9 at crowded beach on Memorial Day

Police are responding to a shooting near the beach broadwalk in Hollywood, Florida.

4 days ago

Crew members assemble the main stage ahead of the 2023 Scripps Nations Spelling Bee on Sunday, May ...

Associated Press

Exclusive secrets of the National Spelling Bee: Picking the words to identify a champion

As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee's word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care.

4 days ago

FILE - Gabby Petito's mother Nichole Schmidt, wipes a tear from her face during a news conference o...

Associated Press

Mother of man who killed Gabby Petito said in letter she would help son ‘dispose of a body’

The mother of the man who killed Gabby Petito told her son in an undated letter that she would “dispose of a body” if needed because she loved him so much, according to copies of the note shared publicly for the first time this week by attorneys for Petito's parents.

7 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Louisiana US House challenger’s ad shows her giving birth