Robert Stewart defeats Hank Sanders to win Democratic bid for District 23 senate seat

Robert L. Stewart, a former aide to U.S. Rep Terri Sewell, won the Democrat nomination for State Senate District 23 in the June 21 runoff, beating out longtime state senator Hank Sanders, who was trying to regain the seat.

Stewart received 55.6% of the vote to defeat Sanders who got 44% of the vote in the primary compared to Stewart’s 30%. Stewart will face two opponents in the Nov. 8 general election to win the seat. 

Senate District 23 represents Dallas, Perry and six other counties. Sanders held the seat for nine terms before his daughter Malika Sanders Fortier took the seat in 2018. The District 23 seat became vacant when Fortier decided to run for governor. 

Fortier of Selma was defeated at the runoff in her attempt to be the Democrat candidate for the state’s top job. Yolanda Rochelle Flowers of Jefferson County received 54.4% of the vote to Sanders Fortier’s 45.6%. Flowers will face Republican nominee and incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey in November. 

Stewart faces Republican candidate Michael Nimmer of Greenville in Butler County. Nimmer ran unopposed in the primary. The Libertarian candidate, Portia Shepherd, is a Demopolis native who lives in Perry County.

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Nimmer served as a Butler County School Board member. Shepherd is executive director of Blackbelt Women Rising.

On the Republican runoff ballot, Katie Britt handily defeated challenger U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Richard Shelby. Britt, a former Shelby aide and president of the Business Council of Alabama, received 64.4% of the vote. Brooks had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, but he rescinded his endorsement and gave it to Britt weeks before the runoff. 

Two constitutional races were also on the Republican runoff ballot. Wes Allen, a state representative and former probate judge in Pike County, defeated two-term State Auditor Jim Zeigler to be the secretary of state. Allen took the post with 64.8% of the vote. Both candidates received about 40% of the vote in the primary.

Andrew Sorrell, a state representative from Florence, won the state auditor’s job vacated by Zeigler with 58% of the vote, defeating Stan Cooke of Jefferson County.

Republican voters also selected two seats on the Public Service Commission. In a close race, Jeremy H. Oden defeated Brent Woodall with 52.5% of the vote for seat No. 1, and Chip Beeker of Centreville was reelected with 62.7% of the vote against challenger Robert L. McCollum for Seat No. 2.