GREEN BAY, Wis. — U.S. Rep. candidate Dr. Kristin Lyerly discussed plans to restore abortion access nationwide and flip the district’s seat to Democratic control at a Lambeau Field tailgate hosted by 8th District Wisconsin Democrats on Sunday.
“This race could become the national referendum on abortion,” Lyerly told The Daily Cardinal.
Abortion has been a critical campaign issue for Wisconsin Democrats after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending constitutionally protected abortion access nationwide. The decision triggered an 1849 Wisconsin law to go back into effect that banned abortion procedures in the state with no exceptions for rape or incest.
In 2023, abortion rights played a crucial role in electing liberal-leaning Justice Janet Protasiewiecz to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, and Lyerly said the issue could again make a difference in the 8th Congressional District.
Lyerly, an OB-GYN and staunch defender of abortion rights, told the Cardinal she decided to enter the race after witnessing what she felt was “political interference in the practice of medicine” throughout Wisconsin.
“My patients can’t get the care that they need, and my colleagues are being threatened for delivering standard care,” she said.
Last year, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin helped author the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade’s abortion protections and restore abortion access nationwide. Baldwin has expressed confidence in the bill’s ability to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate but previously told the Cardinal that flipping the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is key for the bill to become law.
Lyerly expressed unwavering support for codifying abortion access into federal law and restoring the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. If elected, she said her first priority would be to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act in the House.
Wisconsin’s 8th district, located in the northeast region of the state, has been under Republicans control since 2011. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher won the seat in 2016 but resigned from Congress in April, leaving the seat vacant until the November 2024 election.
Republicans currently hold a 220-212 majority in the House. The 8th district is historically a swing district and one of three congressional vacancies in the U.S., making it a prime target for Democrats to help them win control of the House in November.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler appeared alongside Lyerly at the tailgate and praised the OB-GYN’s campaign, saying she is “energizing” people in the region to vote for Democrats “up and down the ballot” in November.
“There’s more energy among Democrats in northeast Wisconsin than any other time since I’ve been chair,” Wikler told the Cardinal.
Despite a stronghold of support, Lyerly still faces stiff competition at the ballot box from Republican candidate Tony Wied. A businessman and former president of Dino Stop gas stations, Wied boasts himself as a “political outsider” and hopes to bring that “perspective to Washington, D.C.”, according to his campaign website.
Wied won a competitive three-way primary race in August after receiving the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who gained majority support in the region during the 2020 election. Trump was favored in all but two counties in the district, and in some areas, Trump ran ahead of President Joe Biden by over 10 percentage points.
Iain Chang is a senior staff writer at The Daily Cardinal covering state news and politics.
