Blue Huntsville: Democrats see major gains in Rocket City after years of effort

Key Points:

• Alabama Democrats flipped four Legislative seats on Tuesday, three of which were in Madison County where the party was focusing its efforts.

• The Madison County delegation has a constantly changing constituency due to Huntsville’s industry, which leads to many “independent thinkers” and will likely require the Republican delegation to remain moderate.

• Madison County’s shift towards Democrats may be more permanent than the rest of the state’s shift due to Democratic holds.

Alabama Democrats hoped to make gains in the Rocket City in Tuesday’s election, and they did.

Despite significant fundraising differences, two seats in the state Senate and one in the House flipped in Democrats’ favor, while Democrats closed the gaps in others. Democrats also won the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and two contested judicial races. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones won 58% of the vote in Madison.

Violet Edwards, a Madison County commissioner and the Democratic nominee for state auditor, said in a phone interview Thursday that having a strong top of the ticket and Madison County natives – like herself and Democratic nominee in Alabama’s 5th Congressional District Andrew Sneed – helped in down-ballot races.

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“Our county party did a great job of engaging the community,” she said. “I’m hearing a lot of people say that it was a fluke. That because the ticket of change existed, that really helped Madison County. I think that did help, but we have to prove that it wasn’t a fluke.”

Alabama Democrats had long hoped for gains in Huntsville, whose growth has brought in residents from blue and purple states and whose demographics are friendlier to the party than the rest of the state.

But for years, Republicans held the delegation despite state Senate races in the county that were more competitive than most, due in part to Democratic candidates struggling to raise money.

But in 2024, Democratic nominee Marilyn Lands, emphasizing reproductive rights after the Alabama Supreme Court temporarily made IVF unavailable in the state, won House District 10 with about 62% of votes, giving Democrats their first net gain in the Alabama Legislature in over 20 years.

She held her seat on Tuesday with 60% of votes.

“I checked her race, and she was reelected by about the same margin. It was really comfortable,” said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of the Center for Politics, in a phone interview Thursday. “I thought that said something about how maybe these shifts are a little enduring.”

Lands said Thursday that voters in Madison County are thoughtful, and don’t always vote along party lines.

“I’ve always had a significant amount of Republican support for a number of reasons. I’ve lived here forever, I know so many people, and I’ve focused so much on issues that really are not partisan,” she said. “Maternal health and mental health and public education; those things are not partisan issues.”

Alabama Democrats see opportunities to pick up legislative seats in Huntsville

‘Seeing the opportunity’

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said in a phone interview Thursday that he thinks the momentum in Madison County will continue with Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, elected Alabama Democratic Party Chair in August.

“I think we’ll see more gains, more opportunities. You see a lot of excitement, so you’ll see more qualified people want to run for office in future years,” Daniels said. “Seeing the opportunity to sweep the countywide offices in Madison County also sends a strong message, and I think that that will continue to happen.”

With Huntsville’s growth, economy and influx of government workers and defense contractors, Daniels said there is less apathy among voters.

“It was a top-down and bottom-up meeting in the middle approach. I don’t think that there’s one person that can receive the ultimate credit for being able to deliver the votes or the turnout,” he said.

After Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats each hold four seats in Madison County in the House, and Democrats hold both Huntsville-area Senate seats. Voters also chose Democratic candidates in some down-ballot races.

The two Democratic candidates running for District Court Judge in places 4 and 5 beat their respective Republican rivals by 54% and 53%. Democrat Brett Jones won election as Madison County Sheriff, getting 53% of the vote. Jeff Taylor, a Democrat, won Madison County Tax Collector with 53% of the vote.

The Democratic nominee for Madison County Schools Superintendent lost, getting 47% of the vote against Republican Keith Trawick. Democratic Austin Jones also lost a school board race to Republican Brian Brooks by 41 points.

Although the partisan makeup of the state legislature remains largely unchanged, Daniels said Democrats will continue to work with Republicans to move the state forward.

He said the minority party will focus on affordability through the next quadrennium. Daniels sponsored an overtime tax exemption in 2023, but it expired in 2025. It was not extended because Republican leadership said it was a larger than expected impact to the Education Trust Fund.

Republican leadership in October promised to eliminate the state grocery tax, which has been reduced over the last three years. Democratic lawmakers have also advocated for the elimination of the state sales tax on food for years.

“They talk about grocery taxes. The grocery taxes are one thing, but the cost of groceries is another. Being able to try to make a proposal on something right before an election just did not sell to the voters. It didn’t seem to,” Daniels said.

Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, said in an interview Thursday that affordability, rural health and mental healthcare will be top-of-mind for him.

“We’ve got to continue to look at ways that we, on a state level, can continue to try to make things more affordable for the average Alabamian,” Moore said. “Continuing to look at cutting the additional 2% of the grocery tax and and look at ways that we can continue to lower that tax burden and put more money back into the hands of the citizens of our state.”

‘A new age’

Jackson Hannan, data and technology chair of the Madison County Democratic Executive Committee, said in a phone interview Thursday that the county has entered a “new age.”

“The shifts that we saw in Madison County are stunning, not just in their breadth but in their depth. I personally did not see Democrats almost sweeping the countywide contests,” he said.

Although Hannan is still gathering and analyzing data, he hypothesizes that the changes in Madison County were due to persuasion, while shifts in more rural areas of the state were due to dips in turnout.

Democratic turnout soars across Alabama in midterm election

While statewide Democratic vote totals nearly doubled on Tuesday, Republican turnout decreased by about 8%, according to election data.

“The vast majority of the shift can be attributed to a national environment that is just absolutely corrosive and toxic for Republicans, especially in the South. Southern Republicans were hit by a multitude of issues,” Hannan said. “Their rural voters did not come out, but further, the rural white voters swung an unprecedented amount back towards Democrats.”

Allison Montgomery, a new Democratic representative for House District 25 and the first openly transgender lawmaker in Alabama, said in a statement Thursday that her grassroots campaign focused on her goals, and voters are “tired of yes-men and ‘business as usual’ governance.”

“I think a lot of folks running under the Republican Party have lost the trust of the people because the Republican party as a political force has shown itself to be lacking integrity in the ways that it operates and devoid of care in the way that it governs,” she said.

Jared Sluss, a new Democratic representative for Senate District 7, said in an interview Wednesday that voters were ready for a change.

“The goal isn’t just to flip seats, to flip them blue just for the sake of doing it, but the goal is to flip seats so that we actually have politicians on both sides of the aisle that deliver real things,” he said. “Wherever we can find a point of agreement that is going to benefit people’s lives. We have to deliver on that because that’s how we get real change that benefits people, and that should be the goal of any public servant.”

Paths for Republicans

Hannan also said most Madison County Republicans are more moderate than the rest of the state party, which helped Moore and Reps. James Lomax and Rex Reynolds, both R-Huntsville, keep their seats. A message seeking comment from Reynolds was left Thursday.

Lomax, in House District 20, said his work will stay the same for the next quadrennium, even though the local delegation has changed.

“That just means that we’re going to have to be more cognizant, work together. We’re going to need to take that into account and build some bridges to be able to work together, because at the end of the day we have to take care of the people in Madison County. That’s what we’re elected to do,” he said.

During the campaign, Republican Gov.-elect Tommy Tuberville said that the fast-growing region embraces “socialist, Communist nonsense.” Lomax said those comments did not impact his campaign, although he criticized them.

“I was able to run my own race. I think that’s the most important thing,” he said Thursday. “One of the things that so many people told me, even while I was out waving a sign at the polling precincts on the day of the election, is ‘We just like the way you work with other people and you are able to get things done.’”

Moore, in House District 4, said he will continue to be active in his community.

“One of the things we are experiencing is with people moving in, they’re bringing different perspectives, different ideas, different ways of life that we haven’t necessarily had here in our state,” he said. “Diversity and culture is a good thing, but we have to be cognizant of who we are, where we’ve come from, and continue to all work together for the betterment of our communities in the regions of our state where we represent.”

Coleman said that Madison County’s constantly changing constituency will likely require Republicans there to be more moderate than the rest of the state.

“You have this influx of new people, it is also more work to constantly be introducing yourself to new constituents as well,” he said.

During the 2026 legislative session, Republican leadership pushed a bill that would have required voters to register with a political party in order to cast a ballot in a primary election. It did not receive a vote in the Senate largely due to a lack of support from north Alabama Republicans.

Lomax said that Tuesday’s results proved that there are independents in Alabama.

“There’s a lot of independents in, not just Madison County, but the entire state of Alabama,” he said. “Alabama fared better than a lot of other states, but there are just a lot of people that are very independent minded. So I think we need to be cognizant of that. Period.”

Montgomery isn’t D.C.

Although Republicans do not need Democratic votes in the Legislature due to the supermajority, the two parties often work together. Lomax and Lands said on Thursday that Montgomery and Washington, D.C., are different.

“I think that’s so important when people want to get so polarized with politics, especially on the national level, and that’s why they’re so sick of Washington D.C.,” Lomax said. “Here in the state of Alabama, in the Legislature, you have to be able to work with people, people you don’t agree with, people that are in the opposite party, and if you’re able to get things done, that means that you’re willing to do that.”

Both Lands and Daniels said they would stand with Montgomery in the face of any attacks due to her identity. In 2024, the Legislature passed a law defining biological sexes. In 2022, it passed a law designating bathroom use based on biological sex in public K-12 schools. Montgomery’s Republican opponent and Republican leadership in weeks leading up to the election attacked Montgomery for being transgender.

Daniels said he would take any disrespect toward Montgomery personally.

“If Allison Montgomery is not treated (well) and respected, then that’s disrespect to my entire caucus,” Daniels said. “I condemn any mistreatment, whether it’s Allison Montgomery or whether it’s a person based upon their race, sexual orientation, or creed. I don’t care who they are, as long as they can deliver for our state and for their district.”

Lands was hopeful.

“I know how I was welcomed into Montgomery by folks on both sides of the aisle, and I feel like the same thing is going to happen for Allison,” she said. “I always try to share with people one thing I think people don’t understand because they think what happens in Montgomery parallels D.C., but it doesn’t.”

Montgomery said she will “work as hard for them as I am for anyone, because we all have the same needs.”

“I hope that all of us in the Legislature can work together to better understand those needs and find ways to materially address them,” she said.