In August, Gov. Kay Ivey called for a special election to fill a vacancy in the Alabama House of Representatives district 76. The seat was left vacant by the death of Thad McClammy, who served as representative for the district since 1995.
Now, McClammy’s daughter Patrice “Penni’ McClammy is the Democratic Party nominee for the special election. So far, Penni McClammy is only qualified candidate running for the seat.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merill said the likely reason no other party has put forward a nominee is because McClammy is the popular candidate. For challengers, the special election would be an uphill battle.
“Because it is a majority minority district, it would be extraordinarily difficult for anyone other than majority member to be elected,” Merill said. “That’s the reason why no candidate has shown any interest in wasting their money to run against a very popular individual who qualified to run for the position.”
A special primary election is scheduled for Nov. 16, and the special general is scheduled for March 1, 2022.
Merill said if no other candidates qualify by the day of the special primary election, the seat will be awarded to McClammy, and the general election in March will be canceled.
“A third party candidate will have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16 in which they can indicate that they have interest in running a third party candidacy. Then, at that point there will be a general election and that will be March the first. But if not, we will be able to certify Penni McClammy as the winner of this seat,” Merill said.