Alabama voters go to the polls Tuesday in a first-of-its-kind congressional primary with no runoff — and the stakes are whether they send fighters for working Americans or more controllable seat-warmers to Washington.
The special primaries, forced by a Supreme Court ruling that triggered Republican redistricting across the South, will determine who appears on November's ballot in four congressional districts. The new GOP-crafted map eliminates one of Alabama's two majority-Black districts, flipping the 2nd District from Democratic-leaning to Republican-favored. But the real fight is inside the GOP: Will the grassroots pick America-first candidates, or will the establishment machine and its rules get its way?
For the first time in known state history, there will be no runoff even if no candidate clears 50%. That winner-take-all rule in a crowded field advantages the candidate with the most money and name recognition — typically the establishment pick. Steve Flowers, a former Alabama state representative and longtime political commentator, put it plainly: "I've been following Alabama politics for 60 years, and I've never seen anything as confusing as this has been to the average voter."
The confusion was manufactured. The May 19 primaries in four districts were effectively wiped out after the U.S. Supreme Court's late-April decision in a Louisiana redistricting case weakened a key Voting Rights Act precedent. Alabama lawmakers called a special session in early May and replaced a court-imposed map — which had two Democratic-leaning districts — with a GOP map featuring just one. The AP framed this as part of "a nationwide Republican effort championed by President Donald Trump to maximize the party's chances of holding its slim U.S. House majority." Translation: the party machinery moved to protect its numbers.
The marquee race is the 2nd District, where the new map removed Mobile, kept Montgomery, and added the Wiregrass region, transforming it from a seat Kamala Harris carried 53-46 to one Trump would have won 57-42. Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, unopposed in his primary, will be the underdog in November.
Six Republicans are vying to take him on. State Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise has the Trump endorsement, backing from Senator Katie Britt, and the field's top fundraising haul. Also running: real estate broker Hampton Harris, Christian Horn, David Matthews, Army veteran Joshua McKee, and James Richardson, according to AL.com. The AP identified Marques, McKee, and Harris as the leading contenders but labeled Marques the favorite — a word the wire services reach for when the money and the endorsements line up.
In the 1st District, which reunites Mobile and Baldwin counties, former Rep. Jerry Carl is the favorite with Trump's and Britt's backing. He faces Austin Sidwell, Lucas Burger, and John Mills in the GOP primary, with Democrat Clyde Jones Jr. waiting in November. In the 6th District, Rep. Gary Palmer is favored, per AL.com. In the 7th, where Black residents maintain a slight majority, Rep. Terri Sewell is unopposed on the Democratic side, with Ammie Akin and David Perry competing for the Republican nomination.
Current House members will serve through the end of 2026 under the old lines; the new boundaries take effect in January 2027. Turnout is expected to be dismal — roughly 11% of registered voters cast ballots in the May primaries — and the possibility of Democratic crossover voting in the open Republican primaries adds a wildcard.
The no-runoff rule is the quiet power move in all of this. In a normal Alabama primary, a crowded field forces a runoff — giving grassroots voters a second chance to consolidate against an establishment frontrunner. This time, there is no second chance. Whoever gets a plurality on Tuesday wins. That benefits the moneyed, the endorsed, and the organized — and it leaves ordinary Alabama Republicans with one shot to get it right.
