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GOP Runoffs Forced in Several Key Races

AL GOP

The votes are in after yesterday's primary election, but that wasn't enough to decide the Republican candidates in a number of key statewide races.

Several GOP races will be on a runoff ballot next month, including for Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, and one seat in U.S. Congress.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of yesterday's election came in the race for U.S. House District 2. Veteran U.S. Representative Martha Roby was forced into a runoff with Bobby Bright, a former Democrat who switched parties after losing the seat to Roby back in 2010.

Roby was one of a few Republicans who was sharply critical of Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. After the release of the so-called "Access Hollywood" tapes, in which then-candidate Trump was recorded saying many lewd and denigrating things about women, Roby pointedly said she would not vote for him.

Incumbent Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is facing a runoff against former Attorney General Troy King. Marshall was appointed to the Attorney General position in February 2017 by then-Governor Robert Bentley, after Bentley appointed Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate. King was appointed to the AG spot by then-Governor Bob Riley in 2004 and was elected to the post in 2006; he was defeated in the Republican primary by Luther Strange in 2010.

In the race for Lieutenant Governor, Alabama Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh will face state representative Will Ainsworth in a runoff. Cavanaugh has served on the Public Service Commission since 2010 and became its president in 2012. Ainsworth was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in District 27 in 2014.

The primary runoff election will be held July 17. The general election will take place November 6. For more information on Alabama elections, head to AlabamaVotes.gov.

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