Democrats picked up two seats in the Alabama Senate in last week’s general election, which could improve the odds of a gambling constitutional amendment passing in the 2027 session.
The State Senate will have at least two fewer Republicans in its supermajority for the next quadrennium due to Democrats flipping two Madison County seats in the general election. State Sen. Jared Sluss (D-Huntsville) narrowly defeated former State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville).
In State Senate District 2, State Sen. Rudolph Drake (D-Madison) defeated Republican John Roberts, winning 34,585 (55.85%) votes compared to Roberts’ 27,130 (43.84%). Former State Sen. Tom Butler (R-Madison) retired as State Senate District 2’s representative and didn’t seek re-election.
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) said he hadn’t asked Sluss or Drake their stance on the issue yet.
“I didn’t run them as candidates because of their gaming perspective. It was just because they were good candidates, and well-known in their communities, and they were electable,” Singleton told 1819 News.
