Alabama Election Overview

 (courtesy of Alabama Daily News)

Governor

  • Gov. Kay Ivey turned back eight primary challengers to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination without a runoff Tuesday earning about 55% of the vote.
  • Blanchard, who served as an ambassador under former President Donald Trump, finished second at 19% and James, the son of former Gov. Fob James who was making his third run for governor, was third at 16.2%. Six more candidates were behind them.
  • Blanchard spent about $11 million of personal money on the race, while James spent about $5 million from raised funds – mostly on attack ads.

U.S. Senate

  • As expected, Alabama’s much-watched Republican primary for the U.S. Senate is going to a runoff.
  • Katie Britt earned about 45% of the vote statewide Tuesday to Mo Brooks’ 29%, pitting the two in a head-to-head contest on June 21.

Other Statewide/Notable Races

  • Greg Cook bested Deborah Jones for the Alabama Supreme Court in a race that became a proxy war between trial lawyers and the business community. Cook, supported by business, won 55%-45%.
  • For Secretary of State, outgoing State Auditor Jim Zeigler and state Rep. Wes Allen advanced to the Republican primary runoff to succeed GOP incumbent John Merrill as Alabama’s top elections officer.
  • State Rep. Andrew Sorrell of Muscle Shoals advanced to a runoff against one of two other candidates in the race for the GOP nomination for State Auditor.
  • Both Public Service Commission races are headed to runoffs.
    • For Place 1, incumbent Jeremy Oden won 33% to Brett Woodall’s 32%.
    • For Place 2, incumbent Chip Beeker won 43% to Robert McCollum’s 36%.
    • Both seats will be on the June 21 runoff ballot.
  • And in Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong will face former Huntsville Superintendent Casey Wardynski in a runoff. Strong got 45% of the vote to Wardynski’s 23%.

Alabama Senate

  • In the 35-seat Senate, five incumbents didn’t seek reelection, creating contested races in those districts. And nine incumbents — seven Republicans and two Democrats — had primary challengers.
  • In Senate District 27, challenger Jay Hovey leads three-term incumbent Sen. Tom Whatley by four votes, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State. But possible provisional and overseas ballots were not yet counted. That would happen by Friday, Secretary of State John Merrill told Alabama Daily News.
  • In the Wiregrass, Coffee County Commissioner Josh Carnley appears to have narrowly avoided a run-off for Senate District 31 with 50.2% of the vote. Long-time Sen. Jimmy Holley gave up the seat, creating a three-man GOP race between Carnley, state Rep. Mike Jones and Norman Horton. Jones had about 40.36% of the vote.

Alabama House of Representatives

    • In the House, nearly two dozen incumbents on both sides of the aisle had primary challengers. Meanwhile, another 21 of the chamber’s 105 seats are open this election cycle.
    • Embattled Prattville Rep. Will Dismukes lost to City Council President Jerry Starnes.
    • Also appearing to lose were incumbent Reps. Tommy Hanes, Proncey Robertson, Gil Isbell, Dickie Drake, Ralph Howard and Joe Faust.
  • Reps. Parker Moore and Tim Wadsworth appear headed to runoffs.

 

More Detail on Legislative Races

 

Senate

There were 14 contested primary races in the Alabama State Senate, including five open seats and nine incumbents challenges.

Incumbent Races: Senate incumbents won eight of nine races. Sen. Tom Whatley’s race with Auburn City Councilman Jay Hovey is still too close to call.  The final count has Whatley down by four votes, but there are more than 60 provisional ballots left to count in Lee County.

Open Seats: Of the five open Senate seats, three were decided last night and two will require a runoff.  Lance Bell (SD 11), Merika Coleman (SD 19), and Josh Carnley (SD 31) won their races last night.  There will be a runoff between Wendy Ghee Draper and Keith Kelley in SD 12 and between Hank Sanders and Robert Stewart in SD 23.

House

In the House, there were 44 contested races, including 18 open seats and 26 incumbent challenges. There were three uncontested open seats.

Incumbent Races: House incumbents won 16 races, lost seven, and three will have runoffs.

The following house incumbents lost:

In HD 7, Rep. Proncey Robertson (R) lost to small business owner Ernie Yarbrough.

In HD 23, Rep. Tommy Hanes (R) lost to Jackson County business man Mike Kirkland.

In HD 28, Rep. Gill Isbell lost to former House member Mack Butler.

In HD 45, Rep. Dickie Drake lost to Hoover resident Susan DuBose.

In HD 72, Rep. Ralph Howard (D) lost to Sawyerville native Curtis Travis.

In HD 88, Rep. Will Dismukes lost to Prattville City Councilman Jerry Starnes.

In HD 94, Rep. Joe Faust lost to landscape designer Jennifer Fidler.

Rep. Parker Moore will face Patrick Johnson in a runoff for the HD 4 seat.  Rep. Tim Wadsworth will face Tom Fredericks in the HD 14 runoff.  And Rep. Rod Scott will face Fred “Coach” Plump in the HD 55 runoff.

Open Seats: Of the 18 contested open House seats, 12 were decided last night and 6 will go to a runoff.

This is a list of last night’s contested open House seat winners:

HD 3       Kerry Underwood

HD 13    Matt Woods

HD 15    Leigh Hulsey

HD 25    Phillip Rigsby

HD 26    Brock Colvin

HD 29    Mark Gidley

HD 31    Troy Stubbs

HD 47    Christian Coleman

HD 61    Ron Bolton

HD 64    Donna Givens

HD 92    Matthew Hammett

HD 95    Frances Holk-Jones

 

There will be runoffs in the following districts:

HD 2       Jason Spencer Black vs Kimberly Butler (Republican)

HD 20    James Lomax vs Frances Taylor (Republican)

HD 40    Chad Robertson vs Julie Borrelli (Republican)

HD 56    Ontario Tillman vs Tereshia Huffman (Democrat)

HD 57    Patrick Sellers vs Charles Ray Winston (Democrat)

HD 100  Mark Shirey vs Pete Kupfer (Republican)

 

There were three uncontested open House seats:

HD 10    David Cole

HD 62    Bill Lamb

HD 89    Marcus Paramore