Voter turnout could play a major role in the primary runoff elections on Tuesday. Citizens will choose who will go into the November general election for important contests, such as U.S. Senate, attorney general and lieutenant governor.
In some counties, commission races are on the runoff ballot, but all eyes have been focused on who will be the nominee for the statewide races.
For lieutenant governor, Wes Allen and John Wahl are going head-to-head after a close primary. Wahl, the former Alabama Republican Party chairman, led by just over 12,000 votes in the May primary. Allen, the current Secretary of State, had 38% of the votes to Wahl’s 40.6%.
With U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) running for governor, his seat is up for grabs. The race between Navy SEAL and Covenant Rescue founder Jared Hudson and U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) is expected to be a close one. In the primary, Moore had 39.2% of the votes to Hudson’s 25.6%. Attorney General Steve Marshall was a close third with 24.5% of the votes, and he was unable to make the runoff. The Senate race will be determined by who Marshall’s voters decide to support in the runoff.
Marshall has been term-limited, so someone will have to take on the job of Alabama Attorney General. In the runoff are his chief of staff, Katherine Robertson and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell. Primary results showed Robertson in the lead with 40.5% of the votes to Mitchell’s 34.4%. Robertson had more than 28,500 votes than Mitchell. However, the tables could turn during the runoff with the 116,931 supporters of Pamela Casey having to decide which candidate to choose. Casey, the current Blount County district attorney, received 25.1% of the vote in the primary, not enough to advance to the runoff.
The May 19 primary election saw fewer voters than in years past, so candidates are pushing constituents to the polls, saying the results will heavily depend on whose supporters show up to vote.
Sample ballots are available online through the Secretary of State’s website. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
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