Albritton seeking U.S. House seat

Two Republican candidates with connections to Monroe and Escambia counties have qualified for the U.S. House of Representatives District 2 seat joining 19 other office seekers.

State Sen. Greg Albritton of Atmore and attorney Caroleene Hardee Dobson of Montgomery, have both entered the race, with Alabama's primary elections set for March 5.

Albritton was first elected to the state house representing Monroe County in 2002 and served until 2006. The former naval officer was elected to the state senate in 2014 and served Monroe County until 2022 when the county was carved out of his district.

Albritton, who is in his third-term as a state senator is an attorney and chairman of the senate's general fund budget committee.

Dobson, daughter of Phil and Lynn Hardee of Beatrice, graduated with honors from Monroe Academy and also with honors from Harvard and Baylor Law School.

Her senior year in high school she was selected an Alabama Presidential Scholar which is given to the most outstanding male and female student in the state.

She is a commissioner on the Alabama Forest Commission and is on the board of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition.

The redrawn 2nd Congressional District was approved by the three-judge federal court in October.

It gives black voters a greater opportunity to elect another minority representative. The redrawn District 2 isn't a majority black but it has an increased population of 48 percent.

It runs from the Alabama-Georgia line near Columbus southwest through Montgomery to the Alabama-Mississippi line in northern Mobile and Washington counties. All of Monroe County is included in the new district. Before the federal court redrew District 2 it was a Republican district covering the southeaster portion of the state. Before the re-districting Monroe County was in District 1 covering Mobile, Baldwin and other southwestern counties.

Qualifying for the new district ended Friday with 13 Democrats and eight Republican candidates. The 21 candidates are more than all of the other six districts' nominees combined.

There is no district residency requirement for the U.S. House only that a person be a resident of the state for at least one day prior to qualifying. Candidates qualifying are from Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Opelika, Mobile and other areas in the state.

Democratic candidates qualifying for the March 5 primary are: James Averhart, Rep. Napoleon Bracy Jr., of Mobile, Rep. Anthony Daniels of Huntsville, former Justice Department official Shomari Figures, Rep. Jeremy Gray of Opelika, Phyllis Harvey Hall, Willie J. Lenard, Larry Darnell Simpson, businessman Vimal Patel of Dothan, Sen. Merika Coleman of Pleasant Grove, Rep. Juandalynn Givan of Birmingham, Brian Gary and Darryl Sinkfield.

The eight Republicans qualifying are Albritton, Dobson, former state Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Montgomery, Karla DuPriest, Hampton Harris, Newton City Councilman Belinda Thomas, Stacey Shepperson and former University of Alabama and NFL defensive end Wallace Gilberry.