Kelvin Datcher Leads Democratic Primary for Special Election in Alabama State House District 52
The special election was called following the resignation of State Representative John Rogers (D).
The Democratic primary occurred today to select a candidate for the October special election to fill a vacancy in the Alabama House of Representatives. A candidate needs to achieve a 50%+1 majority in the primary to win the nomination. If that doesn’t happen, then the top two finishers will advance to a runoff scheduled for July 16, 2024.
The special election for Alabama State House District 52 was called following the resignation of State Representative John Rogers, a Democrat, in a plea deal covering charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He represented this district from November 1982 to March 2024.
A runoff has been called between Kelvin Datcher and Frank Woodson in the Democratic primary. They are currently leading with 37.9% and 17.8% against LaTanya Millhouse with 17.6%, Eric Major with 14.7%, Eyrika Parker with 7.3%, and Dedra Campbell with 4.7%. 1,344 votes have been counted.
However, only three votes separate Woodson and Millhouse in the unofficial election results. As such, a recount is likely to occur in order to ensure Datcher and Woodson were the top candidates.
Since November 2017, Datcher has served as Deputy Director of Community Development in Birmingham. He previously worked as Alabama State Director for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
A pastor, Woodson was Executive Director of Mission Alabama from May 2002 to December 2016 and President/CEO of CityServe Alabama from January 2022 to December 2023. Since November 2016, he has also been a Board Member of Digital Fulcrum Media.
Millhouse previously ran in the special election for District 6 on the Birmingham City Council in October 2019 - finishing fourth in the seven-person nonpartisan election with 10.6%. She later sought the Democratic nomination for State House District 52 in 2022 - holding Rogers to a 67.1-32.9 primary victory.
Alabama State House District 52 covers parts of Birmingham and Jefferson Counties.
The special election for this seat in the Alabama House of Representatives will occur on October 1, 2024. The winner of the Democratic runoff will face off against Republican Carlos Crum, who was unopposed for his party’s nomination. The legislative chamber has no additional vacancies at this time.