Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens speaks to supporters after the election on Nov. 3, 2026, with his wife, Mona, by his side. (Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.)
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Four-term incumbent Jimmie Stephens narrowly won a fifth term representing District 3 on the Jefferson County Commission on Tuesday, with the margin separating the commission president and Democratic challenger Camara Blue just 593 votes.
“That’s been tighter than my city council races,” said Stephens, who previously served on the Bessemer City Council. “I want to congratulate him on running a great, great race. I look forward to seeing what he does in the future. It looks like he has a bright future here in Jefferson County.”
Stephens garnered 27,745 votes, or 50.50% of the total votes cast in the western Jefferson County district. Blue was just a hair behind at 27,152 votes, or 49.42%. There were 42 write-in votes, according to unofficial results from the county.
Stephens, who greeted supporters at The Bright Star restaurant in Bessemer, said he’s always nervous during an election, but he was more concerned this time because of the governor’s race.
“I was concerned because of the Doug Jones effect, bringing everyone out,” he said. “The candidate (Tommy Tubberville) that the Republicans put forth had some of the rhetoric that was offensive,” the incumbent commissioner said. “I was concerned that would hurt my chances.”
But, he said, many people in his district voted straight ticket Republican, which he thinks accounted for his margin of victory.
“I thank God for my family and friends and what we have going on. I look forward to working with the commission for four more years,” Stephens continued.
A delay of more than an hour in the Jefferson County vote returns being posted to the county’s website yielded questions about the outcome of this and other races. At about 11 p.m., Blue spoke to his supporters believing that he had unseated Stephens.
“I believed that I could win when I got in the race,” said Blue, pastor of Old Sardis Baptist Church in Birmingham. “It was something that was always possible. I just knew it was gonna be an uphill battle and a lot of work. I just dug deep and did the work, got out there meeting the people, knocking on doors, crossing the aisle, Democrat and Republican people, just trying to get people to vote.”
But the final vote tally, which was released moments after midnight, showed Blue’s vote count falling just short of his goal.
With the election over, Stephens said he’s got to collect the campaign signs he put up in the district. “You don’t want to litter the community with signs,” he said. “After that, I’ll relax.”
The Bessemer native said work must be done to bridge the gaps between people in the district.
“There’s a lot of people out there that are unhappy,” he said. “I ran for improving the quality of life for the citizens of Jefferson County. I’m gonna roll up my sleeves, and I’m gonna work hard. I’m gonna work very hard to continue to do that. Not just in District 3, but in the entirety of Jefferson County, because it’s important.”
