MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Educator Ammie Akin beat former pastor David Perry and secured the Republican nomination for Alabama’s slightly redrawn 7th Congressional District during Tuesday’s special primary election.
Akin earned 6,662 votes, or 72.98%, according to unofficial primary night results from the secretary of state. Perry got 2,467 votes, or 27.02%.
Akin thanked her supporters and said she looks forward to sharing “a new vision” for the 7th District.
“For far too long, the people of this district have lacked proactive representation they deserve in Washington, D.C.” she said in a statement. “The people of the 7th District deserve a representative who is innovative, forward-thinking, and courageous in keeping America’s values at the forefront of this district. I will campaign tirelessly to earn the trust of every voter, and when elected, I will make sure Alabama’s 7th Congressional District is never taken for granted.”
Akin now faces longtime incumbent Democrat Terri Sewell of Birmingham to represent the central and western Alabama district in Congress. Sewell was unopposed in the primary, and if reelected, it would be her ninth term in Washington.
Though the district line changes that prompted Tuesday’s special primary made Alabama’s map more GOP-friendly as a whole, AL-7 remains a majority-minority district favorable to Democrats.
The new boundary lines removed Lowndes County from the district and added Washington, Monroe and Conecuh Counties. It also shifted the entire Clarke County into the district.
Despite the changes, the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index deemed the 7th District as D+10, meaning its two-party vote share was 10 points more Democratic in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections than the country as a whole. The district was D+13 under the previous map.
After last-minute changes and the atypical timing of the special primary, lawmakers and officials expected extremely low voter turnout in Tuesday’s election. Those concerns came to fruition with only 4.52% of eligible voters casting a ballot as of 9:45 p.m.
Though the number is low, some voters might also have stayed home because there was not a contested primary in their party. Five of the eight primaries across Alabama’s 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Districts were contested.
The general election is Nov. 3.