Montgomery County Commissioner Dimitri Polizos on Tuesday defeated Charlotte Meadows for the Republican nomination in Alabama House District 74. Because there are no Democrats running for the seat, Polizos will automatically be the Montgomery-area district’s new representative in the state legislature.
With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Polizos was declared the winner with 57 percent of the vote to Meadow’s 43 percent. Only 16 percent of the district’s registered voters came out to the polls. 3,747 total votes were cast.
In what is no doubt a sign of things to come, The Alabama Education Association (AEA) — the state’s most well-funded liberal special interest group — played a major role in the Republican primary. They paid for countless attack ads against Meadows throughout the campaign because of her support of school choice and other issues the AEA opposes.
Polizos said his top priorities in the legislature will include “the budget” and making sure state employees receive a pay raise.
House Speaker Mike Hubbard said he’s pleased to have Polizos join the ranks of the House Republican caucus.
“Dimitri is a strong conservative and I know he will be a solid representative for his constituents in House District 74,” Hubbard said in a statement Tuesday evening. “As a fellow small-business owner, I know that his years of experience in the private sector will be an invaluable asset to our membership. House Republicans’ pro-business, pro-private sector focus has yielded tremendous results for the state and I look forward to working with Dimitri on continuing our success moving forward.”
In spite of her loss, Meadows said she plans to continue looking for ways to serve, especially in the education policy arena.
“[I want to] put kids first, which is the goal I’ve had for quite a few years and make sure people understand some of the issues involved in state government,” she told the Montgomery ABC affiliate. “I think I have some what of a gift of trying to explain things to people, so I think maybe I can use that for the good of the people.”
The HD74 race was a special election to fill the seat vacated by former state representative Jay Love, who resigned from the legislature earlier this year. Polizos will now finish out Love’s term and have to run again in 2014.
Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamYHN
