2018 Election

Alabama Voters Keep Republicans, Incumbents in State Offices

Republicans prevailed in Tuesday’s statewide races for Alabama’s top elected offices, including lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor and two public service commission positions. Alabama voters turned out in higher-than-expected numbers to vote on a lengthy ballot that included statewide offices, state legislative seats, judicial candidates and mid-term federal races for Congressional seats. Voters supported Republicans and incumbents over Democratic challengers by margins that averaged about 60 percent for the Republicans to about 40 percent for the Democrats. Read more.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Jefferson County Elects its First Black Sheriff and District Attorney

There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Mark Pettway. The Democratic nominee unseated the incumbent to become the first black sheriff in Jefferson County. Hale has been in office since 1998. “It’s a great day and I’m glad,” Pettway said after receiving a congratulatory phone call from Hale. Asked what set him apart from Hale, Pettway said he understood what the issues really were. “The issue was school safety,” Pettway said Tuesday night at Henderson’s in Midfield. “The issue was making sure we bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community. The issue is trying to help those who are incarcerated. We want to stop the revolving door. I understood the issues.” Read about more Jefferson County races.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Parker Recaptures His Seat as Alabama Chief Justice, Winning Against Challenger Vance

Circuit Court Judge Bob Vance Jr. relishes being the other guy, the one who’s not making the headlines. “The problems that we really need to confront need a serious-minded person who can quietly and professionally deal with those problems,” he said at his campaign party in Birmingham. “We don’t need the drama or the theatrics of another Roy Moore. In order to get the job done and deal with the problems we’ve actually got, we need that kind of quiet, professional attitude to deal with them. That’s why I don’t have a problem with those kinds of descriptions.” Unfortunately for Vance, he has another description after his bid for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court – runner-up. With 53 of 67 counties reporting, Vance trailed Republican candidate Tom Parker 639,619 to 374,233, or 63.05 percent to 36.89 percent. Look here for vote results in races for seats on the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and Court of Civil Appeals.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Voters Deal out Upsets With Wins by Pettway, Carr

Mark Pettway has won the Jefferson County sheriff’s race. According to Jefferson County results, with 97.7 percent of precincts reporting at 11 p.m., he was leading incumbent Sheriff Mike Hale in the race 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent. Danny Carr has claimed victory in his race for district attorney. He was leading incumbent District Attorney Mike Anderton 56.7 percent to 43.2 percent. Incumbent Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight is leading in his re-election race 62.3 percent to challenger J.T. Smallwood’s 37.7 percent. Find results in all the Jefferson County races Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Legislative Seats Up for Grabs in Election

All of the seats in the Legislature are on the ballot today, including seven Senate seats on the Jefferson County delegation and 17 House of Representatives seats that represent parts of the county. Find results in the legislative races.

by BirminghamWatch

Ivey leads Republican sweep of statewide races

Gov. Kay Ivey turned back Democratic challenger Walt Maddox on Tuesday and led the Republican ticket to a clean sweep of statewide races in Alabama.  “The people of Alabama have spoken loud and clear: We want to keep Alabama on the right track and keep Alabama working,” Ivey declared before cheering supporters Tuesday night at a Montgomery hotel.  “It is with immense gratitude that I stand before you tonight as the next governor of Alabama. … Tonight, today, together we have made history — the first Republican woman to be elected governor.” Read more.

by Robert Carter and Sam Prickett

Polls Close Across the State as the Wait for Results Begins

Polls have closed in Jefferson County and across the state; now the wait begins for results in the governor’s race, all the top statewide offices, the Legislature and county offices statewide. Lines greeted many voters as they arrived at the polls today despite initial predictions of near record-low turnout. Jefferson County Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson revised his prediction and estimates about a 50 percent turnout in the county. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill predicts about 40 percent turnout across the state. The spokesman for Merrill’s office said results should start trickling in by about 7:30 p.m. They will be available here on the Secretary of State’s website. BirminghamWatch also will be regularly updating vote numbers in the top state races and periodically updating local results. Merrill’s spokesman, John Bennett, said no major statewide problems had been reported from the polls today. However, poll workers in the Huntsville area are having issues the Madison County Probate Judge Tommy Ragland said could force a hand count of many ballots. He said many ballots could not be fed into readers because the paper ballots were swelled from moisture in the air. Read more.

by Cheryl Slocum and Virginia Martin

Flyer Aimed at African-American Voters Depicts Trump With Klan Marchers

A campaign mail piece sent primarily to African-American voters features photos of President Donald Trump alongside members of the Ku Klux Klan — and it’s not the first time that the groups listed as the flyer’s sponsors have used the tactic. The flyer, which was shown to Birmingham Watch by the staff of Gov. Key Ivey’s campaign, is emblazoned with “Vote or Die” on one side and “Hate Crimes Are On The Rise” on the other, along with images of Trump superimposed on a Confederate battle flag and images of Klan members. Under that image, the flyer reads, “Governor Ivey, Attorney General Steve Marshall and Republican Legislators are strong supporters of Trump’s plan to ‘Make America White Again.’” An Ivey campaign spokesperson said they were given copies of the flyer by Ivey supporters in Hoover and Vestavia Hills. A statement along the bottom of the flyer says that the message was sponsored by Vote or Die, SOS Movement for Justice & Democracy and the Alabama New South Coalition. Representatives of those groups did not return calls. Political materials with racial overtones are not new to Alabama. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Don Wallace

Alabama Board of Education, District 4 Don Wallace Party: Republican Age: 52 Residence: Northport Political experience: Elected Tuscaloosa county commissioner, 2004-2012. Professional experience: Owner, Don Wallace CPA PC, 1999-present; adjunct instructor, Shelton State Community College, 2014-2016. Education: Coursework for master of business administration in sports management, Shorter University, 2014-2016; bachelor of science in business, University of Alabama. Civic experience: Member and speaker,

by Virginia Martin

Yvette Richardson

Alabama Board of Education, District 4 Yvette Richardson Party: Democrat Residence: Fairfield. Political experience: Elected to Alabama State Board of Education, 2010; re-elected, 2014. Served as 2015 State Board of Education President Pro-Tem (temporary) Served as 2016 Vice President of Alabama State Board of Education Professional experience: Currently educational consultant, public education teacher, assistant school principal, school principal, director

by Virginia Martin