Alabama governor sets Aug. 11 primary elections for 4 House seats
WASHINGTON - Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday called for special primary elections for a handful of House districts in Alabama, essentially voiding the contests for those seats scheduled for next week.
The Yellowhammer State is hosting primary elections next Tuesday, including for an open Senate seat. But after the Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama to use a Republican-drawn 2023 House map, Ivey declared that the state would hold special primary elections for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts on Aug. 11. The boundaries of all four seats are set to change by reverting to the earlier version of the congressional map.
The special primary elections won't have runoff elections, according to Ivey.
"Alabamians now have another opportunity to send strong voices to Washington to fight for our values, and I encourage them to get out and vote in this special primary election on August 11," the governor said in a statement. "I also urge them to head to the polls this coming Tuesday, May 19 to vote in all other races."
Ivey's announcement comes as Republican-led states across the South seek to revise their congressional maps following last month's Supreme Court ruling that limited the use of race in drawing House districts. An unexplained and unsigned order from the high court Monday set aside a lower court ruling that found Alabama's congressional map had illegally discriminated against Black voters. The Alabama legislature approved legislation last week to allow for special elections if the Supreme Court lifted the injunction on the state using the 2023 map.
Under that map, Republicans would be favored in six of the state's seven congressional districts. Democrats currently hold two majority-Black seats in Alabama under a court-ordered map used in the 2024 elections. They include the 2nd District represented by Rep. Shomari Figures, which would lean Republican under the reinstated lines.
"This is an incredibly unfortunate decision by the Supreme Court that not only continues their trend of breaking from the norms and precedents set by the Court, but also sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and 60s in terms of Black political representation in the state," Figures said on social media Monday.
The 2023 map would leave Democrat Terri A. Sewell's 7th District as the state's sole Democrat-held seat. Some Alabama Republicans have called for a map that would favor the GOP in all seven House districts.
The expected use of the 2023 map has already led to some reshuffling of candidacies in South Alabama. Former Rep. Jerry Carl said Tuesday he would continue running in the 1st District, a seat he previously held for two terms before losing a member-versus-member primary to Rep. Barry Moore in 2024.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Rhett Marques, who had been Carl's main rival for the GOP nomination in the 1st District, said he would run for the 2nd District instead.
The affected 6th District is currently held by GOP Rep. Gary Palmer.
Republicans are looking to make gains through redistricting in several Southern states in light of last month's Supreme Court's ruling. Louisiana, the state at the center of the high court case, has postponed its House primaries originally scheduled for May 16 as it looks to eliminate at least one Democrat-held seat. Tennessee has already enacted a new map that dismantles a Memphis-area seat, the state's lone district held by Democrats. And Republicans in the South Carolina legislature have begun the process of considering a new congressional map, with a state House subcommittee hearing taking place Tuesday.
_____
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.