Alabama U.S. Representative Martha Roby won her bid for re-election Tuesday.
But a closer look at the vote totals in that race reveals Roby failed to carry a majority of Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. The Montgomery Advertiser reports Roby received around 48 percent of the vote, Democratic challenger Nathan Mathis received just over 40 percent, and a full 11 percent of votes cast were for write-in candidates.
It’s unclear who those write-in votes will be awarded to, as they have to be hand-tallied at each voting precinct, but it’s likely that most will go to Tea Party activist Becky Garritson. Garritson lost the Republican primary to Roby in March and promoted herself as an alternative after Roby announced she would not vote for Donald Trump for President.
Roby won her 2014 race with 67 percent of the vote. She says she respects the protest votes this year and will continue to represent all the people in her district.