BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Republicans won all three contested Alabama State Board of Education races Tuesday, maintaining their six-seat majority on the eight-member elected board.
Republican incumbent Tracie West won a third term representing District 2, while Republicans Cathi Bradford and Emily Jones won seats in Districts 6 and 8, respectively.
Bradford, a veteran classroom teacher, defeated Democrat Angela Morgan. Jones, founder and chair of the Madison County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative parental rights organization active in debates over public school curriculum and library materials, defeated Democrat Shatika Armstrong.
Democratic incumbent Yvette Richardson, who faced no opposition in District 4, returns for a fifth term.
The victories bring two new members to the board. Bradford defeated Republican incumbent Marie Manning in the May primary, while Jones won the race to succeed Republican Wayne Reynolds, who did not seek reelection.
Results are unofficial and reflect votes reported by the Alabama Secretary of State’s office as of 12:15 a.m. Wednesday.
The eight-member board establishes statewide education policies, adopts academic standards and textbooks and appoints the state superintendent of education. Members serve four-year terms.
District 2
Republican incumbent Tracie West, first elected to the board in 2018, defeated Democrat Jamie McCurry to win her third term.
West received 115,373 votes, or 61.5%, compared to McCurry’s 72,056 votes, or 38.4%, according to unofficial results. Another 199 write-in votes brought the district’s total to 187,628.
District 2 includes 13 counties in eastern and southeastern Alabama: Cleburne, Clay, Randolph, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Lee, Russell, Barbour, Coffee, Dale, Henry, Geneva and Houston.
West substantially outraised McCurry during the campaign. According to campaign finance reports retrieved Oct. 31, West reported $55,630 in monetary contributions and $59,800 in expenditures, compared to McCurry’s $1,885 in contributions and $1,198 in expenditures.
District 6
Republican Cathi Bradford defeated Democrat Angela Morgan to win the District 6 seat currently held by Republican Marie Manning.
Bradford received 136,622 votes, or 71.3%, compared to Morgan’s 54,765 votes, or 28.6%. Another 353 write-in votes brought the district’s total to 191,740.
Bradford defeated Manning in the Republican primary, winning 54% of the vote.
District 6 covers much of northeastern Alabama, including Cullman, Marshall, Etowah, Blount, St. Clair, Calhoun and Cherokee counties, along with most of Talladega County and portions of neighboring counties.
Bradford reported $63,061 in monetary campaign contributions and $60,717 in expenditures as of Oct. 31. Morgan previously told Alabama Daily News she had not raised campaign money and therefore had not filed campaign finance reports.
District 8
Republican Emily Jones defeated Democrat Shatika Armstrong to win the District 8 seat currently held by Republican Wayne Reynolds, who did not seek reelection.
Jones received 123,654 votes, or 53.7%, compared to Armstrong’s 106,282 votes, or 46.2%. Another 195 write-in votes brought the district’s total to 230,131, the highest turnout among the three contested State Board races.
Jones secured the Republican nomination after defeating William Matthews in a runoff election. The two had advanced from a three-candidate Republican primary that also included Connie Spears.
District 8 covers much of Alabama’s northernmost region, including Madison and Jackson counties and portions of Limestone and DeKalb counties.
The District 8 race drew substantial campaign spending during the election cycle. Jones reported $51,715 in monetary contributions and $40,726 in expenditures as of Oct. 31, while Armstrong reported $41,377 in contributions and $23,565 in expenditures.
Matthews, who lost the Republican runoff, reported $144,420 in campaign expenditures, more than any other State Board candidate during the 2026 election cycle.
District 4
Democratic incumbent Yvette Richardson, first elected in 2010, faced no opposition and returns to the State Board for a fifth four-year term.
District 4 includes Pickens, Greene, Hale and Bibb counties, along with portions of Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties.
Richardson’s reelection leaves the partisan composition of the elected board unchanged, with six Republicans and two Democrats.
The board’s odd-numbered districts will be up for election again in 2028.