May 19th Primaries: What’s At Stake For U.S. Politics?

May 19^th Primaries, Part 5: The Federal Candidates

Tuesday’s party primaries are considered off-year or mid-term elections, in terms of U.S. presidential elections. While the president’s name is not on the ballot, Tuesday’s elections are anything but an off year for Washington D.C. Control of congress and the ability of the Trump Administration to continue many controversial policies are at stake.

Presidents generally hate mid-terms because historically they have resulted in their loss of political clout in congress. That applies to both Republican and Democratic administrations. Sometimes the shifts resulting from mid-terms are seismic.

You need to look no further than 1994 and 2010, respectively. Each president those years, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, saw the Democratic Party endure devastating losses with major GOP gains in the midterms.

Loss of congressional support for the party in The White House is the rule and not the exception. 22 midterm elections from 1934 through 2018 reveal the party controlling the White House has lost, on average, 28 seats in the House of Representatives and 4 seats in the Senate. That can be a problem for the president whose party has razor then majorities in the house and senate.

Both parties well understand what is on the line Tuesday. That is precisely the reason Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and other Republican controlled states rushed to redistrict. Even Democratic Party dominated states like California hurried to redistrict to counter expected GOP gains. Redrawing the maps in 2026 is actually more about political control of congress than racial disenfranchisement, although it is the end result of redistricting.

The Republicans hold a narrow margin in the House—and a slightly more comfortable cushion in the Senate. However, the two parties are close enough in congressional numbers that it will not take a seismic shift to switch control in one or both chambers. So, if the GOP can gain one or more seats in Republican majority states like Alabama where the state’s Congressional Delegation already has a 7-2 GOP majority, it will help them retain congressional power giving The White House room to operate.

Current polling reveals Republicans have gained about an eight-seat advantage over Democrats in the unprecedented redistricting push for the midterms.

Republicans seeking their party’s congressional nomination in Alabama and nationwide have spent most of their campaign capitol wooing Donald Trump’s support and trying to convince party voters they are best candidate qualified to back the administration’s agenda. Democrats have designed their campaigns to, not attack each other, but rather to convince voters they are best qualified to place checks and balances on the Trump Administration.

So, how will redistricting impact those federal elections Tuesday?

Alabama conducted the last congressional election under a map drawn up at federal court order in 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court sent litigation over that map, known as Allen v. Milligan, back to a three-judge panel of the U.S. Northern District of Alabama, which initially struck down Alabama’s congressional maps as unconstitutional violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting laws. The high court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling, decided last month, required plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of maps under Section 2 to prove intentional discrimination, a significantly higher bar than the prior standard. The high court ordered the lower court to reconsider its earlier Milligan ruling in light of Callais.

This past Tuesday, plaintiffs in Allen v. Milligan filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent the state from changing maps because people have already begun casting their absentee ballots in the election. The federal court set this coming Friday for a hearing on the motion.

“Alabama is proceeding with the May 19, 2026,” Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen told a press conference. “I encourage all eligible Alabamians to verify their voter registration status using AlabamaVotes.gov and make plans to head to the polls on May 19th,” Allen said.

While the expected final act in the redistricting saga is playing out in the courts, the party primary elections take place Tuesday. Elections for the U.S. Senate and state offices are not affected. Voters will also be able to cast ballots in congressional districts 1, 2, 6, and 7. They will be counted, tabulated, announced and then ignored if the state wins in the district court. If they don’t, the lower court action will no doubt be appealed.

The 2nd and 7th districts are held by Black Democrats, Shomari Figures and Terri Sewell. The 1st and 6th districts are held by Republicans, and neighbor the 2nd and 7th.

Gov. Ivey has ordered a special election for August 11^th in districts 1,2,6, and 7. That will require another candidate qualification period and then the revote which must be at least 60 days before the November General Election.

Because the special election is so close to the General Election, there will not be time for a special runoff election. The candidate with the most votes in the special primary will be declared the winner.

The Candidates

U.S. House of Representatives

Democrat:

There are no Democratic Party contested U.S. House of Representatives. Each congressional district has only one candidate, they are:

US Representative, 1st District - Clyde W. Jones, Jr.

US Representative, 2nd District - Shomari C. Figures

US Representative, 3rd District - Lee McInnis

US Representative, 4th District - Amanda N. Pusczek

US Representative, 4th District - Shane Weaver

US Representative, 5th District - Jeremy Devito

US Representative, 5th District - Candice Dollar Duvieilh

US Representative, 5th District - Andrew Sneed