2024 Alabama Primary Runoff: What to know ahead of the election
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The 2024 Alabama Primary Runoff is set for Tuesday, April 16, but what does the election actually entail?
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What is a Runoff Election?
According to Ballotpedia, “Nine states conduct runoff elections as part of their party nomination process. These runoffs occur when no candidate reaches the required threshold for victory.”
The following are the 9 states that conduct primary runoff elections:
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Texas
Per the National Conference of State Legislatures, the runoff system was created “to encourage candidates to broaden their appeal to a wider range of voters, to reduce the likelihood of electing candidates who are at the ideological extremes of a party, and to produce a nominee who may be more electable in the general election. Now that the South is solidly Republican, the same issues still hold true.”
Who is on the Ballot?
District 1
In the Super Tuesday Election, the U.S. House District 1 Republican race ended with Barry Moore winning at 51.49% of the vote, according to WKRG News 5’s Election results page. There was no Democratic District 1 House race, per the ballots.
Since the Democratic race was not applicable and the Republican race had a clear majority, voters living in District 1 will not have ballots to cast.
District 2
In District 2, both the Democratic and Republican House races were not won by a majority.
In the Democratic race, Shomari Figures won 43.45% of the vote and Anthony Daniels won 22.36% of the vote. Since neither won a majority, they will appear on the ballot for Democratic District 2 voters.
As for the Republican race, Dick Brewbaker won 39.60% of the vote and Caroleene Dobson won 26.46%. Since neither candidate won the majority of votes, they will appear on the ballot for Republican District 2 voters.
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About the Candidates
Shomari Figures is running as a Democratic candidate for representative of Alabama District 2. Figures, who has spent the last decade working in government in Washington, says his experience makes him the best candidate for the race.
Per previous reporting, Figures comes from a well-known Mobile political family. His father, Michael Figures was a state senator and civil rights attorney and his mother, Vivian Davis Figures, is a current state senator.
Figures said that if elected he would prioritize access to healthcare, improving education, modernizing infrastructure in rural areas, and reducing gun violence.
Anthony Daniels says his experience as the Alabama House Minority Leader in a statehouse dominated by Republicans puts him in a position to be an effective legislator.
Daniels, who was raised in Bullock County a part of District 2, now lives in Huntsville.
According to his candidate profile, Daniels says key issues facing District 2 are “expanding healthcare, and improving child care to help working families. He wants to make college more affordable and supports loan forgiveness for those students who enter public service.”
Dick Brewbaker fulfilled his maximum two-term pledge and left his Alabama Senate seat in 2018, but he says having grandchildren made him want to get back into politics.
According to his candidate profile, Brewbaker served one term in the Alabama House before his two terms in the State Senate.
Brewbaker is from Montgomery and says the biggest issues nationally are border security and reigning in inflation. On the local side, Brewbaker says he will prioritize supporting area farmers and encouraging industrial development. However, his main campaign centers around his commitment to not serving more than five two-year terms.
Caroleene Dobson, who grew up on a farm in Beatrice, is a Harvard graduate, an attorney in Montgomery, and serves on the Alabama Forestry Commission.
According to previous reporting, the candidate, who has never held public office, says her rural roots give her a leg up over her competition in that she is the only one on both sides of the race who is actively involved in agriculture production.
She says the biggest issues facing the nation are border security, inflation, energy independence, and balancing the budget.
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Need More Information?
According to a press release from the Mobile County Judge of Probate and Chief Election Officer, the probate court of Mobile County has information relating to elections and the voting process on their website.
To view the sample ballots for the District in which you reside, visit Alabama’s Secretary of State Website.
For information on voter registration, visit WKRG News 5’s article on deadlines and requirements.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
