Filing deadline passes for congressional candidates in Alabama


Candidates interested in running for one of Alabama’s U.S. Senate seats and seven U.S. House seats had until November 8 to file. The primary is scheduled for March 3, 2020. A primary runoff, if necessary, will be held on March 31. The general election is on November 3.
 
Nine candidates, including incumbent Doug Jones (D), filed for the U.S. Senate election. Jones is unopposed the Democratic primary. The following candidates are competing in the March 3 Republican primary: Stanley Adair, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, state Rep. Arnold Mooney, former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, Ruth Page Nelson, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Tommy Tuberville.
 
Twenty-six candidates have filed to run for the state’s seven U.S. House seats. The following candidates are running in each race:
 
  • District 1: Incumbent Bradley Byrne (R) is running for the U.S. Senate in 2020. James Averhart, Rick Collins, and Kiani Gardner are running in the Democratic primary. Jerry Carl, John Castorani, former state Sen. Bill Hightower, Wes Lambert, and state Rep. Chris Pringle are running in the Republican primary.
  • District 2: Incumbent Martha Roby (R), who was first elected in 2010, announced in July 2019 that she would not seek re-election in 2020. Phyllis Harvey-Hall and Nathan Mathis are competing in the Democratic primary. Thomas Brown Jr., Jeff Coleman, Terri Hasdorff, former Alabama Attorney General Troy King, former state Rep. Barry Moore, Robert Rogers, and Jessica Taylor are running in the Republican primary.
  • District 3: Incumbent Mike Rogers and Thomas “Sick of D.C.” Casson are running in the Republican primary. Adia Winfrey is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
  • District 4: Incumbent Robert Aderholt is unopposed in the Republican primary. Rick Neighbors is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
  • District 5: Incumbent Mo Brooks and Chris Lewis are running in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidates filed for the seat.
  • District 6: Incumbent Gary Palmer is unopposed in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidates filed for the seat. Kaynen Pellegrino has declared his intention to run for the seat as an independent in 2020.
  • District 7: Incumbent Terri Sewell is unopposed in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed for the seat.
 
Heading into the 2020 election, the Republican Party holds seven of the nine congressional seats from Alabama. In the 2020 election, 35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats are up for election. Of those Senate seats, 33 are regularly-scheduled elections, one is a special election in Arizona, and another is an expected special election in Georgia. Twelve are Democratic-held seats and 23 are Republican-held seats. In the House, where all the seats are up for election, Democrats currently hold a 235-seat majority.
 
Additional reading: