MOBILE, Ala. — Several Alabama races on Tuesday’s ballot were far closer than comparable contests four years ago, including the Mobile County sheriff’s race and the race for governor, according to unofficial returns.
Sheriff’s race tightens
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, incumbent Republican Sheriff Paul Burch led Democratic challenger Pamela Laffitte 51.57 percent to 48.43 percent, a margin of just over 3 points. In 2022, Burch won with 59.4 percent of the vote while Democrat LaBarron Perkins received 36 percent, a margin of about 23 points. The Republican margin was about 20 points smaller this year. South AL News reported on the race in its story on Burch’s second term.
Governor and U.S. Senate
The governor’s race also narrowed. In 2022, Republican Kay Ivey defeated Democrat Yolanda Flowers by 37.7 points. This year Republican Tommy Tuberville led Democrat Doug Jones by about 3.9 points, a shift of nearly 34 points in the Republican margin.
The U.S. Senate race followed a similar pattern. In 2022, Republican Katie Britt defeated Democrat Will Boyd by 35.7 points. This year Republican Barry Moore defeated Democrat Everett Wess by 11.5 points. The two races involved different candidates, but the Republican margin was about 24 points smaller.
For a county-level breakdown, including Mobile County’s vote for Jones, see South AL News’ report on the shift in Mobile and Baldwin counties.
An analyst’s view
Political analyst Quinn Hillyer attributed the closer results largely to the national climate. “This was a major anti-Republican wave nationally, it was an anti-Trump wave nationally, and that’s what made it closer here than it otherwise would have been,” Hillyer said.
He said Democrats were energized, some Republicans were less enthusiastic and some voters in the middle wanted to send Republicans a message. “You had Democrats fired up, and you had a lot of Republicans who were not terribly enthused, and you had a lot of people in the middle who wanted to send a message to Republicans,” Hillyer said.
Figures holds his seat
Hillyer also pointed to Democrat Shomari Figures’ re-election in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. He said the district’s new boundaries were drawn to be more favorable to Republicans, which made Figures’ win notable. He credited both the national climate and Figures’ own work. “One, the strength of the anti-Republican wave. Two, the hard work of Shomari Figures,” Hillyer said.
What voters should take from it
Hillyer said close races show that no vote or district should be taken for granted, and that political change can take more than one election cycle. “The main message for voters is that representative democracy actually works,” he said. “If you work and plan and get a good message, you can turn things around. And sometimes it takes more than one election cycle.”
He said shifts between parties are a reason for voters to keep paying attention. “The fact that they can shift back and forth shows that this is still a very vibrant thing,” Hillyer said. “People should therefore pay more attention to it and take part more in it, because you never know what can happen.”
All results are unofficial until certified.
