Alabama heading back to polls March 31 for runoffs in U.S. House and U.S. Senate
Voters in Alabama will continue to elect their representatives to the state school board and those voters will also be heading back to the polls March 31 for some unfinished business to select party nominees in multiple races, including the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Escambia County and Alabama Democratic voters followed the trend of other states of Super Tuesday by giving support to Joe Biden for president.
Unofficial returns released by the Alabama Secretary of State's Office showed Biden winning the state with 283,534 votes (63.28 percent) to Bernie Sanders' 74,000 votes (15.52) percent. Mike Bloomberg, who announced Wednesday he is withdrawing from the race and will endorse Biden, finished third with 52,333 votes (11.68 percent).
Escambia County followed suit by giving Biden an overwhelming victory with 1,462 votes (68.74 percent). Bloomberg finished second with 341 votes (16.03 percent) and Sanders finished third with 218 votes (10.25 percent).
Across the state of Alabama, voter turnout was reported as 33.01 percent with 1,180,415 of the state's 3,576,107 registered voters casing ballots. In Escambia County, 28.16 percent of the voters turned out with 7,446 of the county's 26,441 registered voters voting.
As expected, Donald Trump rolled to easy victory in all states. In Alabama he received 96.22 percent of the vote and received 97.86 percent in Escambia County among Republican voters.
Voters in Alabama and Escambia County will be heading back to the polls on March 31.
In the race for U.S. Senate, Tommy Tuberville led the ticket statewide with 237,821 (33.41 percent) to Jeff Sessions' 224,985 votes (31.61 percent). The two will face off on March 31 in a Republican runoff to see who faces Democrat U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in November.
Bradley Byrne, who currently represents Escambia County in the U.S. House of Representatives, finished third statewide with 177,217 votes (24.90 percent.). Byrne did carry Escambia County with 3,196 votes (61.34 percent), followed by Sessions with 1,041 votes (19.98 percent). Tuberville finished third in Escambia with 618 votes or 11.86 percent.
In the race to fill Byrne's term in the first congressional district, Jerry Carl and Bill Hightower are headed to a runoff with Carl leading the GOP ticket statewide with 38,359 votes (38.71 percent) to Hightower's 37,133 votes (37.47 percent). Chris Pringle finished third with 19,053 votes (19.23 percent). Escambia County followed suit by giving Carl the nod with 2,252 votes (45.99 percent) to Hightower's 1,726 (35.25 percent). Pringle finished third in Escambia with 739 votes or 15.09 percent.
Democrats will also see a runoff for the House seat between Kiani Gardner and James Averhart.
Brewton resident Jackie Gay, who was running as a Trump delegate for Place 2 in the first congressional district, carried her home county, but was defeated in the district race.
Across the congressional district, Mike Dean received 29,121 votes (43.48 percent) to Chip Brown's 26,228 (39.16 percent). Gay received 11,621 votes (17.35 percent). In Escambia County Gay had 1,668 votes (44.83 percent), followed by Dean with 1,066 (28.65 percent) and Brown with 989 votes (39.16 percent).
Amendment fails
An amendment to the state constitution to change the current elected members of the state school board to one that will be appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate failed overwhelmingly.
Statewide 830,436 voted against the amendment for 75.22 percent. 273,592 (24.78 percent) voted yes.
In Escambia County the amendment failed 5,465 (80.95 percent) to 1,286 (10.05 percent).