Calhoun County, AL – The primary season was filled with highs and lows and culminated in a few surprise wins, many runoffs, and one seat that must wait for provisional ballots to be counted before it can be called. On the local front, Wendy Draper took the lead and will be joined by Keith Kelley for the June runoff for the Republican District 12 Senate Candidate. Wendy Draper spoke to the Calhoun Journal and stated “I am very excited for our win on Tuesday! I’m thankful for the trust the voters placed in me as their conservative Republican nominee for the Alabama State Senate. I look forward to talking with more voters over the next four weeks about the issues that matter to them and what we can do together to move our state forward. Joe Biden’s inflation is hurting Alabama families. As I travel the district, I heard from so many that the rising costs of living is busting their family budget. I will do everything I can in Montgomery to lower the cost of living so people don’t have to choose between buying groceries or putting gas into their car. I will immediately push legislation to remove sales taxes from groceries in our state and to suspend the new gasoline tax until we get inflation under control. I am an America-first Republican who understands what families are going through. Despite the lies that my opponent and his mystery PACs are trying to make people believe, I am not a liberal. I am a conservative
Republican. I love God, my family and my country. I trust the voters to see through the lies and reject mudslinging politics. The people of District 12 deserve better. As State Senator, I will serve the people with integrity, dignity, and honesty.” Keith Kelley also shared his thoughts on the primary by stating “I am grateful for the support we received and look froward to the runoff on June 21st. As the only true conservative Republican in this race, I am confident that voters will see the clear difference between me and my opponent. I will aggressively take my message of rescinding the gas tax and fighting against Joe Biden’s failed policies to every corner of this district. Looking forward to working together this next month.”
The House 40 Republican race that started with eight is now down to two, Chad Robertson from Cleburne County and Calhoun County’s Julie Borrelli. Mrs. Borrelli spoke to the Calhoun Journal to share “I am very excited and humbled to be able to continue in the runoff for District 40. I spent the majority of election night trying to track numbers and thinking I was in third place. When the numbers started to change and people started messaging me about being in the lead in Calhoun County, I was almost shocked. I knew that I worked hard, but didn’t know how it could be enough. We truly ran a grassroots campaign. We were heavily outspent by other candidates and they were very tough competitors. We spent many hours each day, just out there meeting real people, and those interactions were invaluable. I also want to complement the others in this race….especially Katie Exum. Her campaign was so well-run and never slowed down. She took the time to congratulate me and that means a lot. Bill Lester also ran a campaign of integrity and contacted me to share kind words. I know people expect me to bash Chad Robertson now, but I can’t do that. We also spoke last night and moving forward I believe we will both stick to being true to ourselves. I do look forward to winning though!” Candidate Chad Robertson stated “I am honored by the outpouring of support I received from the voters in District 40. I did not have the campaign with the most money, but we worked hard to knock on doors, attend meetings and meet as many voters as possible. I am looking forward to continuing to meet people and listen to their concerns and ideas leading up to the June 21st runoff.”
Continuing on the local front, the County Commission had three decisive wins by Carolyn Henderson, Danny Shears, and Terry Howell. Carolyn Henderson shared with the Calhoun Journal, “I am very excited to continue to serve the people in my district. I have so many projects I want to accomplish. I want to take care of the roads in Ohatchee that haven’t been done in 50 years. I want to make the roads safe for the buses and our children. I will not be responsible for a child being hurt and I’ll do whatever I have to, to make sure that doesn’t happen. The win also makes me feel good because I must have been doing something right for the people to trust me. That is what a vote is, it is trust and it isn’t given freely. I want to take care of them. That is what Eli did and what I want to do. When you live in a district for almost 60 years you get to know people. They aren’t just voters; they are friends. I want to work for them and
give them back the tax payer money they have paid in.” Terry Howell shared “I am overwhelmed by the support I received. There are too many people to name, but I thank each and every one of those that voted for me. I also want to acknowledge J. D. Hess and the 28 years he served the County and the many good things he accomplished. I look forward to serving the County and plan to attend many Commission meetings to start learning the ropes. I would also like to give a special thank you to my wife who has been my biggest supporter.” Danny Shears is the only republican candidate for County Commissioner that will be facing a democratic opponent. He shared “I am very humbled and grateful. I am also a little overwhelmed with the amount of support I have received. There is a different feeling when you get elected to represent. It is a tremendous weight of responsibility to truly earn the trust that was given to you. I owe all those that voted for me and in fact all those in the district as a whole. I owe them the best service I can provide. In my first eight months I think voters have seen me working. I was also lucky to have made great friends and connections through work and various organizations and that paid off. I also want to take a moment to thank
Charity Beecham for running a great campaign. She and her husband Wesley are amazing people and I have no doubt she will have success in all her future endeavors. I plan to take a brief break from the campaign trail, but I do face a Democratic opponent. Toward the fall I will be starting back again. I have not passed the finish line yet. I hope that the support I received in May will stay with me in November.
Mike Rogers also won his bid to continue his run as the Republican candidate for U.S. Representative for the 3rd Congresional District and shared the following thoughts with the Calhoun Journal. “I am honored to serve the folks of Alabama’s Third Congressional District and will carry the Republican banner into November as we take back the House.”
Henry Mullinex spoke with the Journal about his win for the State Republican Executive Committee for Calhoun County Place 4 and shared, “It is with a humble heart that I give thanks to all who voted in the Republican primary
and especially those that voted for me. I wish to congratulate my opponent Peter Leavitt for a great race; he is the future of the party and hope he is engaged in the future process. I promise, if God allows, I will work hard for every Republican to protect the integrity of the party and to grow and strengthen the party. If anyone would like to share the path of success for the Grand Old Party please reach out to me at my cell 256.225.3411. Please vote in the runoffs; it is an obligation to all those that “gave all” and those that “gave some” to provide the freedom to elect those that represent you and your future.”
On the state level Wes Allen and Jim Zeigler will continue to a runoff for the Republican seat for Security of State. They both spoke to the Calhoun Journal and shared their thoughts on the primary results. Jim Zeigler stated “I thank the voters and my supporters for enabling me to win a plurality in the Secretary of State race. Now, we must re-double our efforts for the runoff. My theme is to be a Watchman for election integrity.” Wes Allen shared “I am grateful for the outpouring of support I received last night across the state.
We have worked tirelessly over the last year to meet with as many voters as possible to listen to what is important to them but also to get out our message of experience, conservative values and the importance of election security out across Alabama. Looking forward to the runoff in four weeks, I will continue to travel the state and to work hard to make sure that voters know that I am the only lifelong Republican in this race and I am the only candidate for Secretary of State that has ever actually voted for election security measures in Alabama.”
While Kay Ivey secured the Republican candidacy for governor the Democratic seat will go to a runoff. Gov. Ivey shared to her facebook page, “We did it, Alabama! From the bottom of my heart, thank you! This victory belongs to you.” Yolanda Flowers spoke to the Calhoun Journal about moving on to the Democratic runoff and shared “It has been the honor of my life to travel our beautiful state, meeting so many of our beautiful brothers and sisters, as I seek the highest office in our state – Governor. As a Black woman, it is not lost upon me how historic this moment is. We must now meet the moment that is before us and press on toward the mark. This race has not been easy and I have not always been swift or strong. But I can say with every fiber of
my being, that I am going to endure until the end. With the help of my family, my friends, and YOU – I am able to step out on faith and run this campaign everyday. A campaign for the people; powered by the people. I am so proud of our campaign: We will continue to put the issues that matter to so many of our friends across our state at the forefront. Fighting to reconstruct education in our state through the Lottery Fighting to reconstruct our criminal justice system through rehabilitation and recidivism and not revenue generating prisons. And fighting to reconstruct infrastructure through wide expansion of broadband, solar panels and investments in high speed transportation. Alabama, there is still work to do. I hope that this movement, our movement has inspired you to join our fight. We need you to sign up to volunteer, donate, and spread the word about our campaign, so that we can see an Alabama that is reflective of her people and her promise. Thank you so very much, God Bless and Let’s press toward June 21st as we Reconstruct Alabama, together!”
The race for the Republican State Representative for District 29 was the closest race of the night. Mark A. Gidley has the lead currently at 50.2%, but due to provisional ballots still being counted, he can’t claim victory quite yet. When we spoke this morning he shared, “I want to thank all my supporters. I also want to thank Jamie Grant for running a clean and honorable campaign. I think we both strived for that and we met yesterday and shook hands. I also want to explain that there are still provisional ballots to be counted in Etowah and Calhoun County. I cannot claim victory quite yet. The provisional ballots are not allowed to be counted and certified until next Tuesday, so while I feel strongly that we will still maintain a victory I cannot make that official claim at this time.”
The Democratic candidate winner for U.S. Representative for the 2nd Congressional District was Phyllis Harvey-Hall. She spoke with the Calhoun Journal and wanted to stress “Districts are made of communities. When I think of communities, I think of families. This is why I’m focused on improving the quality of life for families today and in the future.”
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl shared that “The ballots have been cast and the people of Alabama have spoken. First and foremost, I would like to thank our Republican primary voters. They are the real winners today – making it a priority to research and vote for our candidates. They let their voices be heard in a true show of civic duty and patriotism. We had an impressive number of candidates qualify to run for office this year. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner. To those not moving forward this election cycle, I want you to know we appreciate you and have so much respect for your dedication and desire to serve. On behalf of the Alabama Republican Party, I hope you will stay involved with the Party and not give up on your passion to make our state and our nation a better place for all. To those headed to the run-off, I look forward to seeing all of you out on the campaign trail over the next month. Finally, to our 2022 nominees, congratulations! We look forward to working with you and your campaigns. We will take our country back from the Democrats and their radical socialist agenda in November, and continue to gain ground on behalf of liberty and freedom in our great state of Alabama.”
For the full results please visit our Primary Election Results Page.
*The Calhoun Journal does not endorse any candidate.
