The Alabama Democratic Party has not had much success since the Republicans took control of the state in 2010.
Except for Doug Jones' 2017 upset victory, Democrats have not won a statewide election since 2006.
However, the party is trying something new in 2025: get Democrats elected without running as Democrats.
Mayoral races in Alabama are considered non-partisan, meaning candidates don't have to declare a party affiliation to run. That's how two Democrats are now vying for a mayor's seat in the municipal runoff elections set for September 23.
State Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-Mobile) is running in Mobile against Spiro Cheriogotis, while former State Rep. Jeff McLaughlin (D-Guntersville) is running in Guntersville to unseat 13-year incumbent Mayor Leigh Dollar.
Drummond has served in the House as a Democrat since 2014, when she defeated Republican Ralph Carmichael by a wide margin. Since then, her voting record in office has stayed close to party lines. Most recently, in 2025, she voted against renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, against a bill prohibiting gender identity or sexuality discussions in schools and against a bill defining gender based on biological sex.
Prominent Democratic leaders, including Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and U.S. Sen. Corey Booker (D-N.J.), have endorsed Drummond for mayor, and she had the backing of the Mobile County Democratic Party, which has referred to her as the "Democratic mayoral candidate."
McLaughlin, who tied with Dollar in the general election, held office as a Democrat from 2001 to 2010, when he lost to Republican Wes Long. In 2014, he ran unsuccessfully against Will Ainsworth for the House District 27 seat. During an October 2014 debate, McLaughlin described himself as a "conservative southern Democrat" and advocated for non-partisan elections, particularly for judgeships.
"The notion that everybody who is conservative in Alabama has to be Republican is just wrong. Democrats have good Christian values. Let me assure you, my faith is far more important than my party affiliation," McLaughlin said in 2014. He said he was a Democrat because he was in favor of public education and opposed tax cuts to "the rich" and trickle-down economics.
McLaughlin also strongly opposed the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013, a precursor to the 2024 CHOOSE Act, which expanded school choice. He described it as "the worst piece of legislation passed in the last four years."
"What it did was disastrous," he said during the debate. "...It was motivated by political payback time by Republicans against the AEA."
Erica Thomas contributed to this article.
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