Alabama's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 22
- Early voting: N/A
- Absentee voting deadline: Postmark Nov. 5
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
2020 →
← 2016
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| Alabama's 2nd Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: February 9, 2018 |
| Primary: June 5, 2018 Primary runoff: July 17, 2018 (if needed) General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent: Martha Roby (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Alabama |
| Race ratings |
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018 |
| See also |
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th Alabama elections, 2018 U.S. Congress elections, 2018 U.S. Senate elections, 2018 U.S. House elections, 2018 |
An election for the U.S. House seat representing Alabama's 2nd congressional district was held on November 6, 2018. Democratic and Republican primary elections were held on June 5, 2018, and a Republican primary runoff was held on July 17, 2018. Incumbent Martha Roby (R), who was first elected in 2010, defeated Bobby Bright (R) in the primary runoff and faced education analyst Tabitha Isner (D), who won the June 5 Democratic primary.
Alabama's 2nd Congressional District is located in the southeastern portion of the state. Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike counties and part of Montgomery County are included in the district's boundaries.[1]
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. House Alabama District 2
Incumbent Martha Roby defeated Tabitha Isner in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Martha Roby (R) | 61.4 | 138,879 | |
| Tabitha Isner (D) | 38.4 | 86,931 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 420 | ||
| Total votes: 226,230 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Alabama District 2
Incumbent Martha Roby defeated Bobby Bright in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Alabama District 2 on July 17, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Martha Roby | 68.0 | 48,277 | |
| Bobby Bright | 32.0 | 22,767 | ||
| Total votes: 71,044 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 2
Tabitha Isner defeated Audri Scott Williams in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 2 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tabitha Isner | 60.4 | 20,351 | |
| Audri Scott Williams | 39.6 | 13,315 | ||
| Total votes: 33,666 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 2
Incumbent Martha Roby and Bobby Bright advanced to a runoff. They defeated Barry Moore, Rich Hobson, and Tommy Amason in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 2 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Martha Roby | 39.0 | 36,708 | |
| ✔ | Bobby Bright | 28.1 | 26,481 | |
| Barry Moore | 19.3 | 18,177 | ||
| Rich Hobson | 7.5 | 7,052 | ||
| Tommy Amason | 6.1 | 5,763 | ||
| Total votes: 94,181 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+16, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 16 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alabama's 2nd Congressional District the 73rd most Republican nationally.[2]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.97. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.97 points toward that party.[3]
Race background
Alabama's 2nd District was listed as one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's initial targets in 2018.[4]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martha Roby | Republican Party | $2,573,681 | $2,277,449 | $341,683 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Tabitha Isner | Democratic Party | $524,941 | $524,941 | $0 | As of December 31, 2018 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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District history
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Martha Roby (R) defeated the only Democrat to file in the race, Nathan Mathis, in the general election. Roby defeated Becky Gerritson and Robert Rogers in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016.[5][6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Martha Roby Incumbent |
48.8% | 134,886 | |
| Democratic | Nathan Mathis | 40.5% | 112,089 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 10.7% | 29,609 | |
| Total Votes | 276,584 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Martha Roby Incumbent |
66.4% | 78,689 | ||
| Becky Gerritson | 27.8% | 33,015 | ||
| Robert Rogers | 5.8% | 6,856 | ||
| Total Votes | 118,560 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State |
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2014
The 2nd Congressional District of Alabama held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Martha Roby (R) defeated Erick Wright (D) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Martha Roby Incumbent |
67.3% | 113,103 | |
| Democratic | Erick Wright | 32.6% | 54,692 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 157 | |
| Total Votes | 167,952 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State | ||||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states. No counties in Alabama are Pivot Counties.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Alabama with 62.1 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 34.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Alabama voted Democratic 53.33 percent of the time and Republican 40 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Alabama voted Republican all five times.
State overview
Partisan control
This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Alabama heading into the 2018 elections.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2017 special election, one Republican and one Democrat each held a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.
- Republicans held 6 of 7 U.S. House seats in Alabama.
State executives
- As of August 2018, Republicans held 9 state executive positions. The other four positions were nonpartisan.
- The governor of Alabama was Republican Kay Ivey. The state held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.
State legislature
- Republicans controlled both chambers of the Alabama State Legislature. They had a 72-32 majority in the state House and a 26-8 majority in the state Senate.
Trifecta status
- Alabama was a Republican state government trifecta, meaning Republicans held the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.
2018 elections
- See also: Alabama elections, 2018
Alabama held elections for the following positions in 2018:
- U.S. House
- Governor
- Other state executive
- State Senate
- State House
- Special state legislative
- State Supreme Court
- Intermediate appellate courts
- Local judges
- School boards
- Municipal government
Demographics
| Demographic data for Alabama | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,853,875 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 50,645 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 68.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 26.4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 1.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 84.3% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 23.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $43,623 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 23.3% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alabama. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
As of July 2016, Alabama's three largest cities were Birmingham (pop. est. 211,000), Montgomery (pop. est. 200,000), and Huntsville (pop. est. 195,000).[8]
State election history
This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Alabama from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Alabama Secretary of States.
Historical elections
Presidential elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Alabama every year from 2000 to 2016.
| Election results (President of the United States), Alabama 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2016 | 62% | 34% | 28% | ||
| 2012 | 61% | 38% | 23% | ||
| 2008 | 60% | 39% | 21% | ||
| 2004 | 62% | 37% | 25% | ||
| 2000 | 56% | 42% | 14% | ||
U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Alabama from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
| Election results (U.S. Senator), Alabama 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2016 | 64% | 36% | 28% | ||
| 2014 | 97% | No Democratic candidate | 0% | 97% | |
| 2010 | 65% | 35% | 30% | ||
| 2008 | 63% | 37% | 26% | ||
| 2004 | 68% | 32.0% | 36% | ||
| 2002 | 59% | 40.0% | 19% | ||
Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Alabama.
| Election results (Governor), Alabama 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2014 | 64% | 36% | 28% | ||
| 2010 | 58% | 42% | 16 | ||
| 2006 | 57% | 42% | 15% | ||
| 2002 | 49% | 49% | 0% | ||
Congressional delegation, 2000-2016
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
| Congressional delegation, Alabama 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
| 2016 | 86% | 14% | R+5 | ||
| 2014 | 86% | 14% | R+5 | ||
| 2012 | 86% | 14% | R+5 | ||
| 2010 | 86% | 14% | R+5 | ||
| 2008 | 71% | 29% | R+3 | ||
| 2006 | 71% | 29% | R+3 | ||
| 2004 | 71% | 29% | R+3 | ||
| 2002 | 71% | 29% | R+3 | ||
| 2000 | 71% | 29% | R+3 | ||
Trifectas, 1992-2017
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Alabama Party Control: 1992-2025
Six years of Democratic trifectas • Fifteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama, 2018
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2018
- Alabama's 2nd Congressional District election (June 5, 2018 Democratic primary)
- Alabama's 2nd Congressional District election (June 5, 2018 Republican primary)
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ DCCC, "House Democrats Playing Offense," January 30, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "Alabama Primary Results," accessed March 1, 2016
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "2016 Qualified Alabama Republican Candidates," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Alabama Democrats, "Qualified Democratic Candidates as of November 6, 2015," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Alabama Demographics, "Alabama Cities by Population," accessed August 30, 2018
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