State Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, will run for reelection in a different district next year, but with much of his current territory.
Barfoot’s current Senate District 25 includes almost all of Elmore County, Montgomery County outside of the city and a small portion of the city and Crenshaw County to the south. In November, a federal judge approved new lines for the district. Starting in the 2026 election, it has no part of Elmore County but more of the Capital City, making it majority minority.
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco previously ruled the current state Senate map violated the Voting Rights Act by illegally diluting the influence of Black voters around Montgomery.
The new map impacts only Barfoot’s District 25 and District 26, currently held by Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery. It stretches SD26 district into Republican-leaning Elmore County and lessens its footprint in Montgomery.
“I think it’s important for the folks in Elmore County and other parts of Montgomery to continue to have conservative leadership,” Barfoot, who will seek a third term, told Alabama Daily News. “The way the district has been drawn by federal courts left that in doubt. Me running in District 26, if the folks elect me to serve, they know what they’re getting.
“… Every part of Elmore County that is District 25 now will be in District 26, so I’ve represented those folks over the past eight years. And I want to continue to represent those folks.”
There are residency requirements for state senators and Barfoot said he meets them for the newly drawn district.
The state constitution says senators have to be citizens of the state for three years and residents of of their respective counties or districts for one year before their election, “if such county or district shall have been so long established; but if not, then of the county or district from which the same shall have been taken; and they shall reside in their respective counties or districts during their terms of office.”
That means Barfoot can run for new district, redrawn in mid-November less than a year from the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. He told ADN he plans to reside in the newly drawn district prior to the general election.
The state is appealing Manasco’s order that says the new map will be used in the 2026 and 2030 state Senate elections, and any special elections, until new lines are drawn by the Legislature after the 2030 census.
The new map selected by Manasco, one of three proposals, was opposed by plaintiffs in the original lawsuit because of what it does to SD26 currently held by Hatcher.
Lawyers for plaintiffs said the plan creates an opportunity district in Senate District 25 “at the expense of the existing opportunity in SD26.”
Hatcher on Tuesday told ADN he wasn’t ready to discuss what the new lines mean for his 2026 plans. But he did praise Barfoot’s announcement.
“I am happy to know that Senator Barfoot will be running for reelection,” Hatcher said. “His footprint in the newly drawn map of Senate District 26 is significant. I wish the distinguished senator the best of luck in his reelection campaign. Meanwhile, I look forward to continuing to represent the people where I maintain a significant footprint as well.”
According to the most recent campaign finance information, Barfoot has about $401,000 on hand for the 2026 contest. Hatcher has about $103,000. No one else has reported raising campaign funds in either district.