Republican voters have made their choice for the next Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and to fill the vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court

Sarah Stewart will go on to face the state Democratic nominee for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court after an overwhelming result in the state’s Super Tuesday election.

Stewart faced attorney and former State Sen. Bryan Taylor for the position since current Chief Justice Tom Parker is age-restricted from seeking reelection.  

Stewart’s nomination did not come without conflict between her and Taylor. While Taylor did not shy away from throwing accusations at Stewart early on in the race, calling her "woke" and a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only), Stewart swept in late with a massive media push in the final week of the election, highlighting Taylor’s perceived shortcomings.

Despite the prodigious effort on Taylor’s part, Stewart took over 61% of the vote, over 325,000. Taylor won just over 38% of the vote, over 203,000. A relatively unknown candidate Jerry Blevins received fewer than 1,000 votes. Stewart will now face Democrat Circuit Court Judge Greg Griffin, Sr. for the seat in November.

Court of Criminal Appeals.

Appellate prosecutor Rich Anderson will take the vacant fourth seat on Alabama's Court of Criminal Appeals after defeating Thomas Govan in last night’s Super Tuesday primary.

The seat was held by Chris McCool, who recently announced his candidacy for the Alabama Supreme Court.

Anderson, a Montgomery native and practicing lawyer for over 20 years, ran for the appeals court in 2018 but failed to garner the GOP nomination. McCool won the 2018 nomination and won unopposed in the general election.

Despite being out-fundraised by Govan by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, Anderson won the nomination and the seat by a comfortable margin, gaining roughly 55%, over 245,000 votes. Govan pulled in roughly 45%, securing over 197,000 votes.

Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl released a statement after the votes were tallied, congratulating every Republican candidate who ran on Tuesday.

"The Alabama GOP had many competitive primary races across the state, and we want to thank each of our candidates for their commitment to serve the people of Alabama,” Wahl said. “It's not easy to put yourself forward, and we appreciate their sacrifice. We especially want to congratulate those who won their races outright and also to those who are headed to the Run-Off Election. We look forward to working with each of our nominees in the general election."

To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.

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