Republican State Representative Wes Kitchens speaks to a voter ahead of the GOP Primary for Alabama’s 9th State Senate District on January 9th, 2024. Kitchens is the favorite in the race to succeed Republican Clay Scofield.
Republican Clay Scofield vacated Alabama’s 9th State Senate District after being named Executive Vice President of the Business Council of Alabama. Scottfield who had represented this heavily conservative bastion in northern Alabama was first elected in 2010 and had served as Majority Leader of the Alabama State Senate from 2021 to the date of his resignation on October 30th, 2023. The 9th District backed Donald Trump by a 78% – 21% margin in the 2020 Presidential Election and is composed of the entirety of Marshall County in addition to the northern edges of Blount County and the Southern portion of Madison County. The last time the Democratic Party was able to field a candidate for this State Senate District was in 2010, and their recruitment struggles have continued in the special election as they were unable to find a candidate to run. This guarantees Republicans will maintain control of the seat, and makes the GOP Primary the decider for selecting the district’s next representative.
Donald Trump carried Alabama’s 9th State Senate District by a large 77% – 21% margin winning all but one election precinct in this conservative bastion in northern Alabama.
Two candidates lead the way in the Republican primary: financial advisor Brock Colvin and insurance agent Wes Kitchens. Both Republicans are members of the Alabama State House of Representatives and are seeking a promotion with Kitchens currently representing Alabama’s 27th State House of Representatives District and Colvin representing Alabama’s 26th State House of Representatives District. The two state house districts each represent exactly half of deeply conservative Marshall County, which makes up approximately 65% of the State Senate Districts population. Both of the county’s two state house districts are almost identical in their partisan lean, with Trump carrying both of them by the same 84% – 15% margin. In the primary, both candidates have run as conservatives although Kitchens is running his campaign as a “constitutional conservative” focused on economic development, while Colvin has focused significantly more time during his campaign rebuking “wokeism” and fighting ideological culture wars. Kitchens has also touted himself as the most experienced candidate in the race citing his position as vice-chair of the State House Republican caucus while also noting that he has served in the legislature since 2018 while Colvin’s tenure in the legislature only began in 2022. It’s this advantage, along with his financial advantage, which gives Kitchens the upper hand in the race. According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, Colvin raised a total of $146,929 during the campaign compared to Kitchen’s $187,748 financial haul. However, this understates Kitchen’s advantage as he has spent $212,758 in the primary, utilizing his state house campaign account which has had six years to mature. Additionally, Kitchens has received significant support from the Alabama Education Association (the state’s largest teacher union), which has sent out direct mail supporting his campaign.
All Colored Portions: Alabama’s 9th State Senate District with overlapping county lines, the district is currently vacant. Yellow Portion: Areas within Alabama’s 9th State Senate District that are not currently represented by Republican State Representatives Brock Colvin or Wes Kitchens. Navy Blue Portion: Alabama’s 26th State House District, represented by Republican Brock Colvin. Green Portion: Alabama’s 27th State House District, represented by Republican Wes Kitchens.
A third candidate, Stacy George, is also running in the Republican primary, but his only stint in elected office lasted from 2000-2008 as a County Commissioner for Morgan County, which is completely outside of the district. Additionally, George performed disastrously in the GOP Primary for Governor of Alabama in 2022, capturing a tiny 0.4% of the vote, finishing eighth out of only nine candidates. During the primary for the special election, George only raised a paltry $10,020, further demonstrating how he is not a serious candidate. George could still, however, have a significant impact on the race. If he is able to win a large enough percentage of the vote, he could prevent Kitchens from reaching the minimum 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff with Colvin. Kitchens is likely to win the GOP nomination for Alabama’s 9th State Senate District, but it remains to be seen if he can win outright.
Brock Colvin, a freshman lawmaker in the Alabama State House of Representatives, is seeking a promotion in the GOP Primary for Alabama’s 9th State Senate District. Colvin is the slight underdog but he could buy himself more time to make up ground in the race by forcing a runoff.