(LEX 18) — A Kentucky woman who was featured in an important ad on abortion for Gov. Andy Beshear is back on TV. But this time, she's supporting President Joe Biden.
In the ad, Hadley Duvall speaks while she is applying makeup in the mirror. At one point, text appears on screen to tell viewers that she was raped and impregnated by her stepfather as a child.
"When Roe v Wade was overturned, immediately I just thought about being 12 and [the] first thing that was told to me when I saw that positive pregnancy test was, 'you have options,'" Duvall says in the ad. "And you know, if Roe v Wade had been overturned sooner, I wouldn't have heard that. Then, it had me thinking that there's someone who doesn't get to hear that now."
National Democrats featuring Duvall is not a surprising move, according to University of Kentucky Political Science Professor Dr. Stephen Voss.
"For so long, abortion was the issue on which republicans could rely on to mobilize their base. No longer," explained Voss. "Since Dobbs - since the fall of Roe v Wade - abortion has become the gift that keeps on giving for Democratic candidates."
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"All signs are, yet again in this election, that the fight for abortion rights is motivating a lot of potential democratic voters to actually turn out and get to the polls to fill Congress with democrats again - to help Joe Biden win re-election," Voss added.
Voss explained that abortion "plays powerfully in areas that are up for grabs." He says it is a motivating issue in places like the suburbs, where you have relatively affluent voters who may like republican policies but disagree with "Christian, right conservative social issues."
"Duvall's performance in Kentucky in the gubernatorial election was powerful," said Voss. "Her story is powerful. Her delivery is compelling. It's not surprising that national democrats are tapping Duvall's media presence to keep the abortion issue alive nationally."
