Kelvin Datcher was officially elected to Alabama House District 52 after defeating Republican Erskine Brown Jr. in Tuesday’s special election to fill the vacancy left by longtime, former State Rep. John Rogers.
Datcher garnered 1,124 votes (84%) to Brown’s 218 votes (16%) according to unofficial results from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office. Voter turnout was low — only 4.05% of eligible voters participated.
“I’m a little relieved and overwhelmed at the same time,” he told a local publication after the win. “This is literally the third campaign and election that we’ve had in 105 days – a primary, a runoff and now this general. It’s really exciting to have people support you and vote for you and give you a chance to represent them.
“It’s really humbling, particularly because we have real challenges in some of our communities,” the victor continued. “We have the opportunity to do something special, I think, and work very closely with other people.”
RELATED: Kelvin Datcher wins House District 52 special election
Datcher, who currently works as Birmingham’s deputy director of community development, thought he already secured the seat after winning a competitive primary runoff in July when no Republican candidate was on the ballot. Carlos Crum, the original GOP nominee, dropped out.
Erskine Brown Jr. signed up to run just in time for the deadline. However, he did not form a campaign committee, make a website, or seemingly campaign publicly in any way.
The seat became vacant after John Rogers, a legend of the Alabama Legislature, resigned in March as part of a plea agreement in a federal corruption case.
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270
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