Governor Kay Ivey has announced an election to fill the Senate seat vacated by outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, situated just west of Birmingham. The primary elections are scheduled for March 11, with any necessary runoffs occurring on April 8, leading up to the general election on June 24.
Candidates interested in running for the seat must officially qualify by January 7. Reed, a Republican from Jasper, has decided to step down from his position to become Ivey’s senior advisor for workforce transformation. He will concentrate on economic development and efforts to increase Alabama’s workforce participation rate, which has lagged behind the national average for nearly five decades. As of November, Alabama’s participation rate stood at 57.6%, whereas the national rate was reported at 62.5%.
Earlier this month, Senate Republicans nominated Garlan Gudger from Cullman to succeed Reed as Senate President Pro Tem. Given that Republicans currently hold 26 of the 34 seats in the chamber, Gudger’s election is widely seen as highly probable.
Senate District 5 stretches from the Mississippi border through north-central Alabama into Jefferson County, encompassing all of Fayette, Lamar, and Walker counties, alongside a portion of Tuscaloosa County. This seat is anticipated to remain solidly Republican, as evidenced by Reed’s initial election victory in 2010, where he captured 73% of the vote and faced no opposition in subsequent elections.
This upcoming election presents an opportunity for the community to engage in local governance and to support a new leader focused on enhancing economic development and workforce opportunities in Alabama. With the right efforts, there is hope for improving workforce participation and driving positive change in the state’s economy.