She won a seat in the California Legislature — by campaigning for abortion rights in Nevada

RENO —  Weeks before election day, more than 150 volunteers boarded early morning buses in Sacramento and traveled east, through the towering mountains of the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest and across the Nevada border to convince voters to approve a ballot measure that they, as Californians, could not vote on themselves.

When the group of mostly women landed 130 miles later in eclectic Reno, “the biggest little city in the world,” they set out on foot to knock on doors in unfamiliar neighborhoods, asking for support on an initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the Nevada constitution.

It was all part of Democrat Maggy Krell’s strange campaign for the California Assembly. Facing a sleepy race against an often missing-in-action Republican contender for the legislative seat that represents Sacramento County, the former Planned Parenthood attorney pivoted her energy and supporters to a battleground state fighting for the same protections California voters approved two years ago.

“This is my adopted campaign,” Krell said amid the chimes of slot machines, wearing a hot pink blazer and matching tennis shoes at a makeshift volunteer headquarters inside a Reno casino last month.

Her risky plan worked. Not only is Krell, a former deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice, poised to be sworn into the state Legislature on Dec. 2 but the Nevada abortion measure passed overwhelmingly.

The way Krell saw it, the California voters that believed in her would understand why protecting their neighbors’ abortion rights was important. In 2022, California voters passed a similar measure to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal right to the procedure.

“I don’t think it was a wacky strategy at all,” Krell said earlier this month. “I’m really glad I did it. I felt like it was the most important thing I could be doing with my time.”

The unique campaign strategy was prescient, as even Republican voters who helped Trump win the presidential election supported abortion rights measures across the country, solidifying the issue as one that crosses political and cultural lines.

Volunteers for Maggy Krell, a candidate for California Assembly, prepare to campaign on abortion rights in Nevada.

(Scott Sady / For The Times)

“Nevada voters reaffirmed an undeniable truth: Reproductive freedom is a winning issue that mobilizes voters in historic numbers,” Reproductive Freedom for All President and Chief Executive Mini Timmaraju said in a statement following the election.

Krell, 46, has never been in public office before but considered a run for Sacramento mayor this year and unsuccessfully ran for county district attorney a decade ago.

She won more than 65% of the vote in Assembly District 6, a safely Democratic district that includes downtown Sacramento, home to the California Capitol, against young Republican newcomer Nikki Ellis. Ellis, who works for the state Chamber of Commerce, ran an unusually quiet campaign and reported no fundraising or spending activity to the state.

Krell will replace Kevin McCarty, a Democrat who served in the state Legislature for a decade who is poised to be elected mayor of Sacramento.

As a former prosecutor, Krell worked in the California Department of Justice under Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, then state attorney general, and helped to take down Backpage, a classifieds website that allegedly facilitated sex trafficking.

Krell will take part in a special legislative session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom focusing on how to further “Trump proof” California, including when it comes to protecting abortion rights.

“The best defense that we really have at this point is state constitutional rights,” Krell said. “In light of what’s happened nationally, there’s definitely more work that we need to do.”

Tameiko Heim, of Sacramento, rode four hours round trip on Krell’s bus and knocked on doors in Reno in part because she was concerned about how Trump’s abortion policies could impact maternal deaths, especially among Black women who are at higher risk than most.

“It’s important for us to not rest on our laurels,” she said. “No one should tell me what to do with my body, point blank, period.

As Californians descended on Reno in late October, a place where gamblers and outdoorsmen collide as tourists, it offered them a chance they don’t often get back home in the deep blue state where elections are typically won by a solid Democratic majority without fanfare.

“I wanted to go somewhere where I could knock on a door and make a real difference,” said Talia Smith of Lodi, who does not live in Krell’s district and therefore couldn’t vote for her but is passionate about abortion rights. “This is a rare opportunity for us.”

The campaign also offered a glimmer of hope to some Nevadans who opened their doors weeks ahead of the election, worried that its outcome could risk abortion access nationwide.

Trump was ultimately again elected president, and while he has said he does not plan to impose a national abortion ban, activists have urged caution, pointing to his flip-flopping record and his appointment of U.S. Supreme Court judges who overturned the federal right to abortion two years ago, leaving it up to states.

Maggy Krell, left, speaks with Patricia Lynch of Reno while out canvassing in support of Measure 6.

(Scott Sady / For The Times)

Patricia Lynch, 76, stood on her front porch in her quiet neighborhood near Reno High School and choked up talking about how, decades ago, she too had spoke out about abortion rights.

She graduated from law school in 1973, the same year that the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is a constitutional right, striking down limitations in states. She met Sarah Weddington, the young Texas attorney who won the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case, solidifying abortion as a fundamental right.

In 1990, she helped convince voters to pass a referendum safeguarding Nevada’s abortion laws amid concerns then that politicians could roll back the right.

The self described “old feminist,” wearing a flannel and jeans, held back tears as she placed her hand on Krell’s shoulder — another female attorney fighting for reproductive rights more than 50 years later.

“I’m just thinking back on all the battles. It’s been a long time,” Lynch said. “I can’t believe we’re back and we’re still fighting.”