By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Former Jefferson County Tax Collector Jack Williams won the Republican runoff in Tuesday's special election for House District 47. In unofficial returns Tuesday night, Williams polled more than 18 hundred votes. Retired Birmingham firefighter Charles Brush got almost 14 hundred. Williams now advances to the general election on November 30. He'll face Democrat Mike Graffeo. Graffeo is an attorney from Vestavia Hills. The winner will fill the seat of the late state Representative John Hawkins. Hawkins died in June after serving for 28 years in the state Legislature. House District 47 includes Hoover, Vestavia Hills and some unincorporated areas of Jefferson County. Meanwhile, Demopolis City Councilor Thomas Moore and State Representative Bobby Singleton of Greensboro will be in a runoff December 14 for the Democratic nomination for state Senate District 24. In unofficial returns from Tuesday night's special primary election, Moore polled 41 percent of the vote. Singleton finished second with 40 percent, and state Representative Bryant Melton, of Tuscaloosa, had 18 percent. The winner of the runoff will advance to the general election January 25 against Republican James Carter of Boligee. The race is to replace state Senator Charles Steele. He resigned in August to devote more time to his new job as national vice president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Senate District 24 stretches through eight west Alabama counties. Meanwhile, the widow of state Representative Jeff Dolbare will be in a runoff as she tries to replace her husband in the state Legislature. Unofficial returns from Tuesday night from House District 65 show that Gloria Dolbare of Bigbee led the Democratic primary with almost three thousand votes, or 50 percent. Jackson funeral home director Wayne Lathan, meanwhile, won a spot in the runoff with about 24 hundred votes, or 41 percent. David Johnson, also of Jackson, finished third with about 530 votes, or nine percent. The Democratic runoff will be December 14. The winner will advance to the general election January 25 against Republican Nick Williams of McIntosh. Jeff Dolbare died in August after a six-year battle with cancer.