Former Mobile County school board president Bill Meredith, who had himself sought the House District 105 seat, endorsed David Sessions in the special election to fill the south Mobile County legislative post, throwing his weight behind a candidate who had bested him only weeks earlier.
Sessions, a Grand Bay farmer, had defeated both Meredith and Mike Burdine to capture the Republican nomination. He faced Constitution Party candidate Bill Atkinson in the general election set for May 10. The Democratic Party fielded no candidate for the seat.
From rivals to allies
Meredith framed his endorsement as the product of a shared campaign trail. After months of campaigning together, he said, he had come to know Sessions and appreciate his commitment to the community. Having debated him several times, Meredith added, he was satisfied that Sessions was a conservative who would be the best representative for the district, and he urged voters to support him.
Sessions accepted the backing warmly. He said he was honored by Meredith’s support and that, having campaigned against one another for the responsibility, he was gratified to know their respect was mutual.
A dissenting voice
Not every former rival fell into line. Burdine declined to formally endorse either candidate but disclosed that he intended to vote for Atkinson. During the primary, Burdine had repeatedly questioned Sessions’s Republican credentials, pointing to his past support for Democratic nominees for governor and agriculture commissioner. The exchange underscored lingering divisions within the local GOP even after the primary had been decided.
The issues at stake
Sessions said his general election message differed little from his primary campaign, with the same priorities front and center: improved local schools, insurance reform, better jobs and opposition to tax increases. Coastal insurance loomed especially large in a district whose residents had absorbed steep premium increases in the years following a string of hurricanes.
Meredith said he was confident Sessions grasped the severity of the coastal insurance crisis and would fight alongside state Sen. Ben Brooks and others for reform. Brooks had been among the leading advocates in Montgomery for changes to insurance practices affecting the coast, and the issue had become a defining concern for candidates across Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Toward May 10
With the field set and the endorsements sorting themselves out, the contest turned toward turnout. The seat had opened in the middle of a term, and special elections often draw sparse participation, placing a premium on organization and enthusiasm.
Meredith closed his endorsement on a confident note, saying he believed Sessions would do a great job for the district and encouraging everyone to vote for him on May 10. For Sessions, the support of a recent opponent offered a measure of unity heading into the final stretch of a campaign shaped, above all, by the anxieties of coastal homeowners.