Primary Runoff Election 2014 Results
Alabama voters made their selections in statewide, state legislative, congressional and local primary runoffs Tuesday.
In a race closely watched in North Alabama, policy analyst Gary Palmer secured the Republican nomination in Alabama’s 6th Congressional district. Palmer defeated State Representative Paul DeMarco. The six weeks between the June primary and the Tuesday runoff were marked by heated campaigning and negative ads. Alabama’s 6th Congressional district is solidly Republican, giving Palmer a high chance of winning the general election in November. The winner of that race replaces retiring longtime U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus of Vestavia Hills.
Here are the results from key races with the winner declared by the Associated Press.
Statewide Races
Secretary of State (GOP)
100 percent precincts reporting
John Merrill – 53 percent
Reese McKinney – 47 percent
Auditor (GOP)
100 percent precincts reporting
Jim Zeigler – 65 percent
Dale Peterson – 35 percent
Public Service Comm Place 2 (GOP)
100 percent precincts reporting
Chip Beeker – 59 percent
Terry Dunn – 41 percent
Congressional Race
U.S. House District 6 (GOP)
100 percent precincts reporting
Gary Palmer – 64 percent
Paul DeMarco – 36 percent
Alabama voters also approved a constitutional amendment that will allow cotton farmers to vote to make a fee mandatory that they have been paying voluntarily on each bale of cotton.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting Tuesday night, the constitutional amendment was passing with 67 percent voting yes and 33 percent voting no.
The $1 a bale fee is now paid on all cotton when it’s delivered to the gin, but those who don’t want to pay it can get a refund. Less than 10 percent usually request a refund. The fee is used for cotton promotion and research.
The constitutional amendment drew supported from the Alabama Farmers Federation and other agricultural groups.
A proposed Bessemer data center faces new hurdles: a ‘road to nowhere’ and the Birmingham darter
With the City Council in Bessemer scheduled to vote Tuesday on a “hyperscale” data center, challenges from an environmental group and the Alabama Department of Transportation present potential obstacles for the wildly unpopular project.
Birmingham Museum of Art’s silver exhibit tells a dazzling global story
Silver and Ceremony is made up of more than 150 suites of silver, sourced from India, and some of their designs.
Mentally ill people are stuck in jail because they can’t get treatment. Here’s what’s to know
Hundreds of people across Alabama await a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in providing care for people who are charged with crimes but deemed too mentally ill to stand trial. But seven years since the federal agreement, the problem has only worsened.
Ivey appoints Will Parker to Alabama Supreme Court
Parker fills the court seat vacated by Bill Lewis who was tapped by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship. The U.S. Senate last month confirmed Lewis as a U.S. district judge.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
