Turman re-elected to sheriff seat; Hammett claims win in House race
Published 1:00 pm Friday, May 27, 2022
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Incumbent Covington County Sheriff Blake Turman will remain in that seat after he defeated former sheriff Dennis Meeks in Tuesday’s primary election.
Turman claimed 5,539 of the votes from 26 county precincts, which was 60 percent of the total votes cast. Meeks finished the night with 3,702 votes, which was 40 percent.
“Holding and running for an office at the same time is tough and I couldn’t get around to knock on everyone’s door. But I had a lot of good help. We had cook-outs that were well attended and they are the people I have to thank for that. They made it happen. I have to thank my family and all those who volunteered to help with the campaign,” Turman said.
As for the voters, Turman said he looks forward to serving them and meeting the responsibilities of the office.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous coming in. But, after that first box came in I calmed down and it was the beginning of a great night. I’m excited about getting to work and furthering the sheriff’s office and building it up for the future. I truly appreciate the support and confidence that the people of Covington County have given me,” he said.
Norman Hobson also won as an incumbent in the race for Coroner. He received 53 percent of the county vote while his two challengers, Wilson “Eddie” Rowell finished with almost 26 percent and Kelley Averill Lynn claimed 21 percent.
In the race for State Senate, Dist. 31, Mike Jones Jr. claimed the most votes in Covington County with 52.6 of the votes. But, Carnley holds an advantage across the district as he went on to claim just over the 50.2 percent of the total district vote, possibly avoiding a runoff with Jones if he maintains 50-plus percent of the vote after provisional ballots are counted. Norman Horton received 9.4 percent of the votes in that race.
Carnley took a big edge in his home county of Coffee where he received 66.7 percent of the vote, compared to Jones’ 23.4 percent and Horton’s 9.9 percent.
Jones came out on top among voters in the areas of Dale and Pike counties included in Dist. 31. Jones edged Carnley in Dale by only 17 votes, but took 51.3 percent of the votes in Pike County compared to Carnley’s 37.6 percent.
Matthew Hammett claimed the Republican victory in the race for Jones’ previous seat as Dist. 92 State Representative. Hammett took Covington County with 4,774 total votes, or 53.33 percent. White finished with 4,178 votes for 41.67 percent.
White did finish first in the district’s precincts within Coffee and Escambia counties. Escambia County gave White 349 votes to Hammett’s 111 and Coffee County was very close with White gaining 379 votes to Hammett’s 366.
In the end it was Hammett finishing with the most total votes across the district with 5,251, or 51.7 percent, to White’s 4,906 votes for 48.3 percent.
Hammett will face Democrat Steve Hubbard in the general election.
Other races on the Republican ballot included a choice between nine candidates for governor. Covington County was in step with the rest of the state in its support for incumbent Kay Ivey, who despite the number of challengers, won the Republican ticket out-right. She claimed 58.19 percent of Covington County’s vote while taking 54.42 percent across the state.
Ivey’s opponent for the general election will have to be determined in a runoff, as Democrats gave 33.82 percent of the vote to Yolanda Rochelle Flowers and 32.5 percent to Malika Sanders Fortier.
In the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated with longtime Senator Richard Shelby stepping down, Katie Britt claimed the win in Covington County with 49.21 percent of the vote. Mike Durant finished second with 26.9 percent and Mo Brooks took 21.2 percent.
There will be a runoff for the seat as statewide, Britt claimed 44.7 percent statewide. She will face Brooks who claimed 29.1 percent. Durant finished with 23.3 percent.
There will be no runoff for the same seat for the Democrats. Will Boyd took 63.7 percent of the state, claiming the outright win over Brandaun Dean and Lanny Jackson.
Boyd also won among Democrat voters in Covington County, taking 59.94 percent of the vote.
Other results from Covington County’s primary election include the following (totals do not include statewide results):
Republican Ballot
Secretary of State: Wes Allen – 4,018 votes (52.04%); Christian Horn – 664 votes (8.60%); Ed Packard – 335 votes (4.34%); and Jim Zeigler – 2,704 votes (35.02%)
State Auditor: Stan Cooke – 2,270 votes (32.26%); Rusty Glover – 1,899 votes (26.99%); and Andrew Sorrell – 2,867 votes (40.75%)
Public Service Commission, Place 1: John Hammock – 2,202 votes (33.51%); Stephen McLamb – 503 votes (7.65%); Jeremy H. Oden – 1,620 votes (24.65%); and Brent Woodall – 2,246 (34.18%)
Public Service Commission, Place 2: Chip Beeker – 2,675 votes (41.33%); Robin Litaker – 1,330 votes (20.55%); and Robert L. McCollum – 2,468 votes (38.13%)
Supreme Court Associate Justice, Place 5: Greg Cook – 4,042 votes (52.09%); Debra Jones – 3,718 votes (47.91%)
Attorney General: Steve Marshall – 6,777 votes (89.75%); Harry Bartlett Still III – 774 votes (10.25%)
Democrat Ballot
U.S. Representative, 2nd District: Phyllis Harvey-Hall – 229 votes (71.34%); Vimal Patel – 92 votes (28.66%)
All Ballots
Statewide Amendment 1: Related to an Alabama State Constitution amendment allowing the sale of general obligations bonds up to $85 million for the purposes of the improvement, renovation, equipping, acquisition, provision, construction, and maintenance of Alabama State Parks.
Yes – 6,534 votes (76%)
No – 2,063 votes (24%)
This Amendment passed statewide with 76.8 percent voting “yes.”
The only ballots remaining to count are provisional ballots, which will be counted Tuesday, May 31.