A special Democratic primary will be held on May 25 for District 78 in the Alabama House of Representatives. A Democratic primary runoff, if necessary, will take place on June 22. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Loretta Grant (R) in the special general election on September 7.
Terance Dawson, Kenyatté Hassell, Roderick Thornton, and Donald Williams will face off in the Democratic primary. The special election became necessary after Kirk Hatcher (D) was elected to the Alabama State Senate in a special election on March 2. Hatcher served in the state House from 2018 to 2021. He was elected in 2018 with 83% of the vote.
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. Republicans control the state Senate by a 26-8 margin with one vacancy and the state House by a 76-27 margin with two vacancies.
As of May, 38 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 16 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year.
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