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.
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