As the Mobile mayoral race draws closer later this year, a sitting state legislator has officially kicked off her campaign to become the city’s highest-ranking official.

State Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-Mobile), who originally filed to run for the position on February 3, has been a member of the Alabama legislature since 2014 and is the chair of the Alabama House Democratic Caucus. She is also a native of the Port City.

“For me, Mobile has always been like a jewel sitting on the top of a hill,” said Drummond at a campaign rally on Sunday.

RELATED: ‘Time to pass the baton’: Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson announces he will not seek fourth term

“And it’s embedded in my heart. I was asked a minute ago, why would you want to do this? Y’all, public service has always been in my heart. Public service is the place where I begin because I know what the least deal with. So y’all, we can make this city and take it to another level that nobody has ever seen before. I want you all to know that I stand here today for all, not for just some, but for all.”

“I stand today to build a city where it’s not just some, but everyone has the opportunity to thrive,” she continued. “I stand for Maysville. Down the Bay. I stand for Crichton. I stand for The Bottom. I stand for Spring Hill. I stand for West Mobile. I stand for Texas Hill. I stand for all.”

Prior to her time in the Alabama House, Drummond served as an administrator for the Mobile County Commission for ten years.

The Mobile mayoral election will take place on Aug. 26, 2025. Candidates must qualify to run by June 10.

RELATED: Spiro Cheriogotis resigns judgeship, enters race for Mayor of Mobile with family-focused campaign launch

Other candidates who have qualified to run in the race so far include former District Judge Spiro Cheriogotis, Strickland Youth Center deputy administrator Lawrence Battiste, former County Commissioner Stephen Nodine, and Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the racial demographic breakdown in Mobile has changed dramatically.

In 2000, 51.3% of the city was white, and the black population accounted for around 46.6%. According to the 2020 Census, those numbers have more than flipped, with 53.1% of the population black and 40.4% of it white.

Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten