A two-party Alabama? Not yet, election returns show

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Democrats may have taken a step toward building Alabama into a two-party state by running more candidates than four years ago, but they couldn’t pull off a win for any statewide office.

Alabama Republicans turned back a re-energized Democratic Party with little problem Tuesday, winning the governor’s office and every other statewide seat to maintain their lock on Montgomery.

Aside from GOP Gov. Kay Ivey defeating Democratic challenger Walt Maddox for a full term, all six of the state’s congressional Republicans won re-election easily, and amendments favored by conservatives won approval with ease.

The result means more of the same in the state’s balance of power: No Democrat will hold statewide office in Montgomery, and Alabama’s nine-member delegation to Washington includes seven Republicans.

Here are some of the key races:

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Republican state Rep. Will Ainsworth defeated Democrat Will Boyd in the race for lieutenant governor, a job that mainly involves presiding over the state Senate.

Ainsworth was first elected to the Alabama House four years ago. The North Alabama resident billed himself as a Christian conservative who will set a higher ethical standard at a Statehouse tainted by repeated scandals in recent years.

Boyd is a minister from Florence. He has made several unsuccessful bids for public office, including last year when he sought the Democratic nomination for the seat now held by Jones.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall, an appointee who previously served as a county prosecutor in north Alabama, defeated Democrat Joseph Siegelman, the son one of the best-known names in state politics, former Gov. Don Siegelman.

Marshall, 53, took over in February 2017 after Luther Strange was appointed to the U.S. Senate. He endured personal tragedy earlier this year when his wife, Bridgette, took her own life in June just weeks before the Republican runoff.

Siegelman, 30, is a Birmingham attorney who was making his first bid for public office. While many voters might recognize his name because of his father, they also might attach some unwanted baggage to it. Don Siegelman, Alabama’s last Democratic governor, served time in federal prison after being convicted in a bribery conspiracy.

CONGRESS

Alabama’s congressional Republicans pulled off a clean sweep over Democratic challengers, and it wasn’t close in any district.

In the most closely watched race, Rep. Mike Rogers of Saks easily defeated a former Miss America, Mallory Hagan of Opelika, as he sought a ninth term in the solidly GOP District 3.