Political newcomer Billie Jo Underwood of Summerdale came within roughly 450 votes of winning the District 3 seat on the Baldwin County Commission outright, forcing incumbent Tucker Dorsey into a July runoff.
Unofficial returns from the June 5 Republican primary showed Underwood taking about 48 percent of the vote to Dorsey’s 38 percent, with Will McDaniel a distant third. Dorsey, who was seeking a third term on the commission, received 10,566 votes to Underwood’s 13,244.
A grassroots campaign heads to July
Underwood said she felt honored that voters gave her the chance to compete in the runoff, noting that District 3 was the only county commission district with three candidates in the primary. She said that while there were moments on election night when an outright victory appeared possible, the race ultimately headed to a second round set for July 17.
Underwood’s strength was broad: she won all but 12 of the county’s 49 precincts and carried both the provisional and absentee boxes. She described her effort as a true grassroots campaign built on family, friends and hard work, and said her message about changing leadership in District 3 would continue through the runoff.
Dorsey leans on experience
Dorsey framed the runoff as a fresh start, saying the gap between the candidates gives him a clear map of where he performed well and where he needs to concentrate his efforts. He argued that experience matters more than ever with at least two new members set to join the commission next term, and pointed to his two terms of working with county residents as his chief selling point.
Campaign finance reports filed through May 30 showed Underwood had raised about $42,700, spent roughly $38,300 and had around $4,400 on hand. Dorsey’s reports showed he substantially out-raised his challenger, with roughly $45,455 remaining in his account after spending of about $46,160.
Elsewhere on the Baldwin County ballot, Jeb Ball defeated longtime incumbent Frank Burt in District 1, and Joe Davis beat John Lake for the District 2 seat vacated by Chris Elliott, who launched a run for the Alabama Senate. Davis was set to face Democrat Amber Smith in the November general election.