Special Elections: Holmes Wins Seat in House

The former chairman of the Elmore County Republican Executive Committee, Mike Holmes, has won the Republican runoff in Alabama House District 31 and will be joining the Legislature. Holmes pulled 2,028 votes, or 57 percent, in the special election Tuesday against Wetumpka car dealer Jimmy Collier, who got 1,550 votes, or 43 percent. The winner faced no Democratic opposition in the heavily Republican district, which covers parts of Elmore and Coosa counties in central Alabama. Holmes will replace Republican Barry Mask of Wetumpka, who resigned from the House in September after being named chief executive of the Alabama Association of Realtors.l