Democratic voters go to the polls on Tuesday, May 25, in the Alabama special Democratic primary for House District 78 in Montgomery County.
Four candidates are running for the Democratic nomination in HD78: Terance “Watchdog” Dawson, Kenyatté Hassell, Roderick Thornton and Donald Williams.
Loretta Grant was the only Republican to qualify, so there will be no Republican primary. Grant will face the eventual winner of the Democratic primary in the special general election on Sept. 7.
The Democratic primary runoff will be on June 22 if no candidate can get 50 percent of the vote plus 1.
The House District 78 seat became vacant when Rep. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, won the special election for Senate District 26 on March 2. Hatcher defeated the venerable Alvin Holmes for HD78 in 2018. Holmes served HD78 in the House for 44 years.
Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Voters must have a valid photo ID and be a registered voter.
Dawson is a former Montgomery city councilman and is considered the founder of Gateway Park. He is a former federal and state employee and lobbyist.
Hassell, age 43, is the director of Young Life and a barber. He was recently Hatcher’s campaign manager.
Thornton is the owner at R&R Renovations LLC and a team leader at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. He is a former Navy intelligence officer.
Williams is the former director of existing industry at the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. He previously worked as the Human Resource at Simcala Inc. and is the former CEO and owner at Dynamic Employment Solutions LLC.
Whoever wins the district will serve the remainder of Hatcher’s term and then will have to run for re-election next year. HD78 will have to be reapportioned and redistricted, like the rest of the Legislature, before next year. HD78 could look significantly different.
