Louisville Democratic Rep. Marzian dropping reelection bid, cites GOP redistricting

Longtime state Rep. and Louisville Democrat Mary Lou Marzian announced Monday she’s dropping out of her 2022 reelection race after a 28-year career in the Kentucky legislature.

Other Democratic women who represent Jefferson County alongside Marzian in the state House of Representatives joined her Monday as she publicly broke the news of her plans to formally withdraw from the race.

Marzian was forced into a primary battle against one of those colleagues, Rep. Josie Raymond, when Republican lawmakers approved new redistricting plans this year that put both women in the same district. Instead, Marzian is bowing out.

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For her supporters, there’s one glimmer of hope that could keep her in the legislature: If the Kentucky Democratic Party’s lawsuit over the state legislative redistricting plans is successful and the new House map is scrapped, she said she’d like to stick around.

"I am not going to play their sadistic and misogynist game of pitting Democratic women against each other," she said of the GOP's House redistricting committee in a news release. "I was a voice that the Republicans wanted to get rid of because they were afraid of truth to power."

Marzian further criticized the GOP's "insidious" redistricting plans during Monday's press conference, saying it "deliberately forced female incumbents into the same districts..."

"Because of this ultra-extreme, right-wing (attack) on every female in the House and every female in this commonwealth, I am withdrawing my name from the 2022 election," she said. "Shame on all of you Republicans for disgracing the legislature. Shame on you for castigating Louisville's voice in Frankfort, and shame on you for hurting Kentucky, Kentucky's women and children."

Another pair of Democratic women, Reps. McKenzie Cantrell and Lisa Willner, also were drawn into the same district during this year’s redistricting process, which Republican lawmakers controlled for the first time ever. However, Cantrell is saying goodbye to the House and running for the Kentucky Court of Appeals instead.

The GOP-crafted House map also put two pairs of Republican lawmakers in the same district. Upon first revealing the plan in December, House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said he believed they drew "a thoughtful map that complied with every legal and constitutional requirement."

Marzian emphasized the vital representation women legislators provide during a press conference in Louisville Monday, where she officially signed the papers to withdraw her candidacy in the May 17 primary.

"Why are women so important to the process? We bring new perspectives to the table. Family issues, women issues, children," she said. "For instance, when I was first elected I was on the education committee, and they were considering some legislation in the budget for scholarships for boys for the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. As the only woman on the education committee, I had to ask: 'Why not girls?' Girls were included after that."

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Since she first got elected in 1994, Marzian has built a track record as a vocal advocate for reproductive rights, public education and other issues.

She's known for filing pointed proposals intended to make a statement in a legislature where Republicans are firmly in control of what legislation gets approved.

For example, in 2016 she filed a much-talked-about bill that would require Kentucky men to get their wife's signed permission before they can get erectile dysfunction medication like Viagra. (That, of course, was a response to anti-abortion measures lawmakers were advancing that year.)

As a retired nurse, Marzian also has long advocated for legislation meant to help others in that career, including a law she sponsored in 1996 that let advanced practice nurses in Kentucky prescribe non-controlled medications.

Even though she won't run for reelection, Marzian said she's not going away.

She plans to support the reelection campaigns of her colleagues who stood with her Monday, and she's interested in starting a political action committee focused on recruiting progressive women to run for office.

"I'm not going to stay quiet. I never have been very quiet," she said, laughing.

Raymond, whom Marzian would've had to run against if she hadn't decided to step down, said Monday has been "an emotional day for all of us."

"The thought of representing folks who've been represented by Mary Lou Marzian for 28, 29 years is a daunting one," she said. "But Mary Lou has mentored us very well ... and we're ready to carry the torch."

Eligible voters still will see Marzian's name on the May primary ballot, but any votes cast for her won't count.

Other Louisville Democratic women are saying goodbye to the Ky. House, too

Marzian and Cantrell aren’t the only departures from Jefferson County’s lineup of Democratic women lawmakers in the House.

House Minority Leader Joni Jenkins – the first woman in Kentucky history to ever lead a state legislative caucus — announced in January that she’ll wrap up her 28-year career in Frankfort this year instead of running for reelection.

Jenkins pointed to the GOP’s redistricting plans when explaining her decision, since the new map turned her district into one with a population that’s nearly 50% Black, and she “did not want to be a barrier to a person of color joining the Kentucky House of Representatives.”

In addition to Jenkins' withdrawal, Rep. Attica Scott decided to pursue retiring Rep. John Yarmuth’s 3rd Congressional District seat instead of seeking reelection to the legislature.

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Scott, as well as Stevenson, cited concerns Monday about how GOP lawmakers' redistricting plans affected west Louisville, including redrawing legislative district lines in ways that shifted Scott's House District 41 out of that predominantly Black part of the city.

Scott described that as "political redlining" and told The Courier Journal Monday she thought Marzian made an excellent point that morning about how Republicans' redistricting targeted strong Democratic women.

That retaliation isn't just about these women lawmakers as individuals, she said, adding: "But it is also about the people that we serve."

There hasn’t been a definitive ruling yet on the Kentucky Democratic Party’s redistricting lawsuit. The May 17 primary election is based on the new maps since a judge recently decided not to temporarily block them from taking effect while the case continues.

The Courier Journal requested a comment from the Kentucky House's GOP leadership early Monday afternoon but did not immediately receive a response.

This story may be updated.

Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Rep. Marzian drops reelection bid after GOP redistricting