On Monday, Democratic State Representative Mary Lou Marzian said she would drop her re-election bid. In announcing her decision, Marzian said she would not “play their sadistic and misogynist game of pitting Democratic women against each other,” according to Centre Daily Times.
The move from Marzian, a Louisville Democrat, who has been in office for nearly 30 years, comes after Republicans recently redrew her district. House District 34, the area currently represented by Mazian, was combined with House District 31, according to WFPL. House District 31 is currently represented by another Democratic woman, Representative Josie Raymond.
Marzian said she believed the redistricting was done intentionally by Republicans in order to get her out of office.
“I was a voice that the Republicans wanted to get rid of because they were afraid of truth to power,” she told WFPL.
WDRB reported that Marzian was a defender of abortion rights as well as gender equality and public education.
In announcing her decision to not seek reelection, Marzian said her decision was difficult and that she enjoyed working on behalf of the citizens of her district.
“I was truly honored to represent the wonderful people of Kentucky House District 34. This is not easy for anyone who loves Louisville and loves this Commonwealth,” she told WFPL.
However, while Marzian has announced her intention to step away, there is a chance she could still seek re-election. The Centre Daily Times reports that the Kentucky Democratic Party has filed a legal challenge to the Republicans’ redrawing of both the state House of Representatives and Congressional districts.
At this time, the case is scheduled to be heard by a judge sometime in early April. If it were to be struck down and her original district put back in place, Marzian told the Centre Daily Times she would run for re-election in the May 17 primary.
Kentucky is not the only state where redistricting is forcing lawmakers to not seek re-election. In Illinois, Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger announced his decision to not run for re-election soon after Illinois’ Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzer approved a new congressional map, which combined Kinzinger’s district with fellow GOP Representative Darin LaHood.
Kinzinger, in a video posted to social media about his decision to not seek re-election last October, said that “too many have chosen argument over answers, tribes over solutions and name-calling over working together.”
A number of other lawmakers have chosen to step away, announcing their plans to not seek re-election as a result of the newly redrawn legislative districts.
In late January, Tennessee Democratic Representative Jim Cooper announced he would not run for re-election after the district he currently represents would be split into three other districts.
Newsweek reached out to Marzian’s office for further comment but did not hear back before publication.
