During an interview with APR on Monday, Hazel Floyd, the Democratic nominee in the House District 38 special election, explained what led her to run and what she is hoping her campaign for state representative can accomplish.
Floyd was the only person to file for the Democratic nomination this election cycle, a fact which didn’t exactly surprise her. “ I’m running for a Republican seat, so I would’ve been surprised if another Democratic candidate had come forward,” she explained.
In 2018, the last election cycle in HD38 in which both a Democratic and a Republican candidate were on the ballot, the Republican nominee received almost 70 percent of the vote.
HD38’s previous representative, Debbie Wood, R-Valley, announced her resignation in July, and last week the primary election for the Republican nomination headed to a run-off between political newcomers Garrett Dixon and Kristin Nelson.
As the Democratic nominee, Floyd will face the winner of that run-off in the special election on February 3, 2026. A 21-year-old and a recent graduate of the University of Alabama, she would also be one of the youngest members of the Alabama House if she were elected.
Floyd told APR she is also already considering running again in the November 2026 general election if she loses the special election, but remains undecided.
“ It has always been my dream job to be in the government, to help people,” she said. “I’m a very community-oriented person, and I love people. I’ve been in situations where I didn’t have someone stand up for me, so I knew that I wanted to be the person who stood up for the little guy. ”
“ Since I was five I kind of just knew I was just gonna do this,” Floyd added. As a kid, she had once dreamed of being elected president, she explained.
Floyd also described talking with some senators and representatives about the need to pass HB152, a bill signed into law during the most recent session exempting baby supplies and menstrual hygiene products from sales tax.
Asked about what she thought the worst bill to be passed recently was, Floyd pointed to SB53, which made it a crime to “transport or move an alien… in furtherance of the unlawful presence of the alien in the United States.”
“ I noticed when I read the bill that they changed the word from a person to an individual and I feel like that’s very targeting,” she stated.
During the Monday interview, Floyd additionally told APR she really wants her campaign to inspire other young people who may enjoy talking about politics but have never actually registered to vote to get more involved.
“ I met with one person recently,” Floyd recounted. “I was on a panel in Montgomery and she came up to me after the panel and asked how I did this at such a young age because nervousness is a big thing. And my message to her was that your age is a strength, not necessarily a weakness.”
“ So a lot of people are gonna look down on you or they may question your wisdom and things like that because you’re younger,” she said. “ But if you don’t look at your age as a hindrance, then it can’t be a hindrance to you.”
Despite Floyd pointing out that turnout is likely to be very low in February and young adults are politically disengaged, she also acknowledged at several points that many people in the district aren’t likely to support a Democratic candidate in any election.
“Make sure that you learn about me,” Floyd said she would tell voters. “ If you have a question about my policies, about who I am, and you’re in my community, reach out. I’m very transparent. I have been very open, and I have been very open to listening to all concerns and issues.”
“I do not care what your political party is, I wanna talk to you. I wanna meet the person behind that thought process,” she added. “So before people make generalizations about my Democratic standing, look on my social media, check out my Linktree, things like that. Get to know me before you cast me aside as a stereotypical Democrat.”
