Ben Robbins (R) won the special general election for the District 33 seat in the Alabama House of Representatives on January 19, 2021. Robbins defeated Fred Crum, who was nominated by the Alabama Democratic Party to run in the special general election after Democratic primary winner Terra Foster withdrew from the race. Unofficial results from the state show Robbins won by a margin of 68% to 32%.
The seat became vacant after former incumbent Ronald Johnson (R) passed away on July 14, 2020. Johnson had held the District 33 seat since 1978. Once he is sworn in, Robbins will serve the remaining two years of Johnson’s term.
Alabama has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers. As of January 20, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control. In the 2020 election, Republicans had a net gain of two trifectas, and two states under divided government became trifectas.
As of January 2021, 23 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 16 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.
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