BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — Republican Danielle Duggar won the Alabama House District 96 seat Tuesday, defeating Democrat Terri Osborne in a race that remained contentious from the May primary through the campaign’s final week.
Duggar had 68.4% of the vote and Osborne 31.4%, with more than 73% of the vote counted Tuesday night, according to the Baldwin County Probate Judge’s Office. Results remain unofficial until certified.
The district includes Daphne, Spanish Fort and surrounding Baldwin County communities.
A primary that unseated an incumbent
Duggar reached the general election by defeating Rep. Matt Simpson of Daphne, a lawyer and prosecutor seeking a third term, in the May 19 Republican primary. She had lost to him in the 2022 GOP primary.
This year’s contest was close and contentious. Simpson sent a cease-and-desist letter to Alabama Values PAC, a political action committee that supported Duggar, accusing it of misrepresenting facts and lying about his votes in office. South AL News reported in October that Simpson said he planned to sue the PAC over ads and mailers he says misrepresented his voting record and contributed to his loss.
Duggar, a Baldwin County mother who ran on a “faith, family and freedom” message, has been active in a number of conservative groups and causes. She has been a leader in Eagle Forum of Alabama and is involved with Health Freedom Alabama and Bama Carry. She is also a member and former board member of the Common Sense Campaign, a Tea Party group.
She pledged to follow Tommy Tuberville’s agenda and has opposed vaccine mandates and COVID-era restrictions.
Osborne, of Daphne, was unopposed in the Democratic primary. A geologist and parent who has lived in the Daphne area for about 30 years, she is a transgender woman. Her campaign emphasized expanding health care access and supporting public education while criticizing far-right policies and Republican talking points.
The candidates did share one position. Both opposed tolls planned for the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project. Duggar said residents had already paid for the region’s roads through federal and state taxes. Osborne said that if a toll has to be imposed, it should be as low as possible for the shortest possible time, especially for commuters in Baldwin and Mobile counties.
Stadthagen’s remarks and Osborne’s response
The general election drew wider attention after Alabama Republican Party Chairman Scott Stadthagen spoke at an Oct. 8 meeting of the Eastern Shore Republican Women in Fairhope. He described Osborne and another transgender Democratic House candidate, Allison Montgomery of Madison County, as “men who have mental disorders.”
Osborne disputed the description.
“Being transgender is not a mental illness,” she said. “The American Psychiatric Association has made that distinction clear. I have letters from mental health professionals stating that I am of sound mind. Does he?”
The American Psychiatric Association says being transgender is not a psychiatric diagnosis.
Duggar spoke at the same meeting. She described Osborne’s views as radical, said Osborne wanted that ideology taught in schools and urged Republicans to keep it from gaining ground in Baldwin County. Duggar did not say at the meeting that Osborne is mentally ill.
“I find it amazing that Representative Scott Stadthagen and my opponent, Danielle Duggar, seem so obsessed with my gender that they apparently have no time to discuss the problems facing the people of Alabama,” Osborne said.
Osborne challenged Duggar to point to any proposal from her campaign calling for gender ideology to be taught in schools and said voters were more concerned with the cost of groceries, housing, insurance and health care, along with traffic, public schools and Medicaid.
“Danielle, instead of telling voters what you think is wrong with me, why don’t you tell them what you’re actually doing to make their lives better?” Osborne said.
The Alabama Democratic Party, through Chairman Bobby Singleton, later defended Osborne and Montgomery and accused Stadthagen of using attacks on their gender identities to distract voters from household costs.
A school board member’s break with the GOP
The race produced one more dispute in its final days. On Oct. 29, Andrea Lindsey, who represents District 2 on the Baldwin County Board of Education, commented on one of Osborne’s Facebook posts: “Beat her Terri!”
The next day, Lindsey told Baldwin County Republican Party Chair Kathy Morelock and Vice Chair Jerry Ann McCarron that she was leaving the party and would consider herself an independent. “I am a true believer in public schools and do not feel the Republican candidates understand the needs of public schools,” she wrote, adding that she did not want to be part of a party that wants to expand the CHOOSE Act, Alabama’s program of education savings accounts for private school tuition and other approved expenses.
An unnamed Baldwin County resident also filed a complaint with the county party over the comment, a development reported Monday. The complaint asked party leaders to investigate and to consider whether her conduct warrants denial of future Republican ballot access.
Lindsey did not say she explicitly supports Osborne but sharply criticized Duggar in an email, calling her “a dangerously unqualified candidate.” Morelock confirmed the resignation in a written statement and said “appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the Party’s rules and governing procedures.” On Monday, the county party also posted a statement on Facebook, without naming Lindsey, saying that an official elected as a Republican who publicly backs a Democrat lets down the voters who elected them.
Lindsey said she has no plans to seek another public office and intends to retire from public life when her school board term ends in 2030. South AL News reported that the party rule cited in the complaint does not provide for removing her from her elected seat.
