Super Tuesday: Kenny Davis defeats Jamie Graham in district attorney's race
Facing opposition for the first time in his 32 years in office, Russell County District Attorney Kenneth Davis was handed another term to lead the office in a close primary election Tuesday that triggered a surprise in the district judge's race.
With all precincts counted but totals unofficial, Davis garnered 3,398 or 56.5 percent of the vote to 2,612 or 43.4 percent for Jamie Graham who worked under Davis for almost 11 years in the office.
Davis was emotional when he declared victory in front of a large crowd gathered at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Phenix City. “It’s a joyous moment. It’s a difficult moment for me,” said Davis, who lost his wife, Emily, to brain cancer last year. “Somebody is not here that I would like to be here.”
Graham, who resigned from the office to run against his former boss, said he was happy with his race.
“I ran a clean race,” he said. “I ran a hard race. … I ran against a guy with 32 years of experience. And the people of Russell County want him for more time. I’m not done. I’ll be back when it comes back time to run again.”
As for Davis, he said he ran again because he believed he was the best person to fill the job. Now that he’s been re-elected, he said he’ll continue to do what a district attorney should do: “Justice. Find the truth and do what’s right.”
One goal his office will have moving forward is finding new ways to deal with their case load.
“We have to adapt in my office to the limited resources we have and find ways to reduce the case load that we have,” he said. “We’ve got to use all of the resources we have at our disposal and find some new venues and some new modes of dealing with our caseload.”
Stay with www.ledger-enquirer.com for news and results throughout the night.
MUSCOGEE COUNTY PRECINCTS
- Wynnton Methodist Church, 2412 Wynnton Road.
- Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road.
- St. John AME Church, 3980 Steam Mill Road.
- Britt David Baptist Church, 2801 Britt David Road.
- St. Peter Methodist Church, 6507 Moon Road.
- Cornerstone Church of God, 7701 Lloyd Road.
- *Columbus Tech, 928 Manchester Expwy.
- St. Mark UMC, 6795 Whitesville Road.
- Wynnbrook Baptist Church, 500 River Knoll Way.
- Cusseta Road Church of Christ, 3013 Cusseta Road.
- National Infantry Museum, 1775 Legacy Way.
- Eddy Middle School, 2100 S. Lumpkin Road.
- Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, 4400 Old Cusseta Road.
- Faith Tabernacle Church, 1603 Floyd Road.
- Fort Middle School, 2900 Woodruff Farm Road.
- Rothschild Middle School, 1136 Hunt Ave.
- Church of Jesus Christ LDS, 4400 Reese Road.
- St. Paul Methodist Church, 2101 Wildwood Ave.
- North Highland Assembly of God, 7300 Whittlesey Blvd.
- St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 4980 Hancock Road.
- *Salvation Army Church, 5201 Warm Springs Road.
- First African Baptist Church, 901 Fifth Ave.
- Epworth UMC, 2400 Devonshire Drive.
- Marianna Gallops Center, 1212 15th St.
- Edgewood Baptist Church, 3564 Forrest Road.
- Psalmond Road Rec Center, 6500 Psalmond Road.
*People who voted at Northside Baptist or Fox Elementary will vote in the student center at Columbus Tech, and people who voted at Blackmon Middle will vote at the Salvation Army Church.
THE MUSCOGEE COUNTY BALLOT
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For president:
- Hillary Clinton
- Martin J. O’Malley
- Bernie Sanders
- Michael Steinberg
REPUBLICAN PARTY
For president:
- Jeb Bush
- Ben Carson
- Chris Christie
- Ted Cruz
- Carly Fiorina
- Lindsey Graham
- Mick Huckabee
- John R. Kasich
- George Pataki
- Rand Paul
- Marco Rubio
- Rick Santorum
- Donald J. Trump
RUSSELL COUNTY PRECINCTS
- Roy Martin Center, 1100 Airport Road, Phenix City.
- Ladonia Volunteer Fire Department Station, 3855 U.S. 80 West, Phenix City.
- Central Activities Building, 1500 14th St., Phenix City.
- National Guard Armory, 3614 S. Railroad St., Phenix City.
- Russell County Courthouse, 1000 Broad St., Phenix City.
- Claude Parkman Building, Prentiss Griffith Drive, Phenix City.
- Spencer Recreation Center, 400 8th Ave. S., Phenix City.
- Fort Mitchell Community Center, 870 Alabama Highway 165, Fort Mitchell.
- Troy University, 2602 College Drive, Phenix City.
- Crawford Volunteer Fire Department, 6 Alabama Highway 169 S., Phenix City.
- Dixie Volunteer Fire Department, 15 Lamb Road, Opelika.
- Cottonton Volunteer Fire Department, 1835 Alabama Highway 165, Pittsview.
- Pittsview Volunteer Fire Department, 5741 U.S. 431 S., Pittsview.
- Old Russell County Courthouse, 5 Jackson St., Seale.
- Hatchechubbee Volunteer Fire Department, 495 Blanding Road, Hatchechubbee.
- Hurtsboro Volunteer Fire Department Station, 405 Daniel St., Hurtsboro.
- Austin Sumbry Park 3999 U.S. 431 S., Phenix City.
- Absentee box: Russell County Courthouse, 501 14th St., Phenix City.
THE RUSSELL COUNTY BALLOT
The Russell County ballot by party has a list of candidates for president and then a list of electors to party conventions, which voters must follow ballot instructions to choose. Electors will not be listed here.
Voters may choose “uncommitted” from the list of presidential candidates, committing no delegates to anyone in the running.
Here are listings for each party’s ballot:
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For president:
- Hillary Clinton
- Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente
- Martin J. O’Malley
- Bernie Sanders
- Uncommitted
For U.S. Senate:
- Ron Crumpton
- Charles Nana
For District Attorney:
- Kenneth “Kenny” Davis
- Jamie Graham
For District Court Judge, Place 1:
- Zack Collins
- Buster Landreau
For District Court Judge, Place 2:
- Walter Lee Gray III
- April Logan Russell
For Russell County Commission, District 5:
- Cattie Epps
- Jeff Faircloth
- Charles E. Hollowell
For Russell County Commission, District 7:
- Larry Screws
- J.D. Upshaw
Proposed Statewide Amendment, No. 1:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to authorize the legislature to provide a retirement program for district attorneys and circuit clerks of the state who are first elected or appointed on or after November 8, 2016.
SPECIAL ELECTION
Do you favor the local law authorizing the levy of fifty dollars ($50) per year on each residence and one hundred dollars ($100) on each commercial business outside the city limits of Phenix City, which shall be used to fund volunteer fire protection outside the City of Phenix City in Russell County?
REPUBLICAN PARTY
For president:
- Jeb Bush
- Ben Carson
- Chris Christie
- Ted Cruz
- Carly Fiorina
- Lindsey Graham
- Mick Huckabee
- John R. Kasich
- Rand Paul
- Marco Rubio
- Rick Santorum
- Donald J. Trump
- Uncommitted
For U.S. Senate:
- Marcus Bowman
- John Martin
- Jonathan McConnell
- Shadrack McGill
- Richard C. Shelby
For U.S. House, 3rd Congressional District:
- Larry DiChiara
- Mike Rogers
For Associate Justice, Place No. 3, State Supreme Court:
- Donald J. Beaulieu
- Tom Parker
For President, Public Service Commission:
- Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh
- Terry Dunn
Proposed Statewide Amendment, No. 1:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to authorize the legislature to provide a retirement program for district attorneys and circuit clerks of the state who are first elected or appointed on or after November 8, 2016.
SPECIAL ELECTION
Do you favor the local law authorizing the levy of fifty dollars ($50) per year on each residence and one hundred dollars ($100) on each commercial business outside the city limits of Phenix City, which shall be used to fund volunteer fire protection outside the City of Phenix City in Russell County?
This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Super Tuesday: Kenny Davis defeats Jamie Graham in district attorney's race."