Dr. Kristin Lyerly, left, from Wisconsin, speaks during a meeting of the reproductive rights task force in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also attended the meeting. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

On Thursday, Wisconsin obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Kristin Lyerly announced she is running for the state’s Eighth Congressional District seat, which will be vacant after Rep. Mike Gallagher (R) resigns on April 19.

Lyerly made her announcement on the UpNorthNews Radio show, citing Gallagher’s early retirement as a main reason for her run.

“There is a clear path to victory,” Lyerly said. “Even in what in the past has been an R+16 district — with women at the helm, with women voting, with women stepping up and acknowledging that my personal freedoms are being taken away from me. They’re looking at democracy. They’re recognizing that our democracy is in peril and that it’s our job—as moms as small business owners, as community leaders to take the helm and to lead.”

Lyerly previously ran for Wisconsin’s 88th Assembly District seat against state Rep. John Macco (R-Ledgeview) in 2020 and lost by less than 1,541 votes. After the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, Lyerly spearheaded a lawsuit to restore access to abortion rights in Wisconsin after a law from 1849 blocked Planned Parenthood clinics from performing the procedure. Last December, a Dane County judge ruled that the law did not apply to abortion, effectively restoring access for up to 24 weeks in Wisconsin.