Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Alabama House of Representatives District 78 is represented by Kenyatté Hassell (D).
As of the 2020 Census, Alabama state representatives represented an average of 47,905 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 45,743 residents.
About the office
Elected officials are not subjected to term limits and Alabama House members are one of only five lower house officials in the United States that are elected every four years. Alabama's state representatives assume office the day following their election.[1][2]
Qualifications
Members of the state House must be 21 years old at the time of their election, U.S. citizens, residents of the State of Alabama for at least three years, and residents of their district at least one year prior to the general election.[2]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $53,913/year | No per diem is paid to legislators whose permanent residence is less than six hours away. Legislators who are 6-12 hrs from their permanent residence receive $12.75/day. Legislators who are over 12 hours away with no overnight receive $34/day. |
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Alabama State Legislature, a special election must generally be conducted in order to fill the vacant seat. In the event that a vacancy occurs on or after October 1 in the year of a regular election, the seat will remain vacant until filled at the regular election. Otherwise, the governor must call for a special election if the vacancy happens before the next scheduled general election and the Legislature is in session.[3][4] The governor has all discretion in setting the date of the election along with the nominating deadlines.[4]
See sources: Alabama Code § 17-15-1
District map
Redistricting
2020-2022
Alabama enacted state legislative maps for the state Senate and House of Representatives on Nov. 4, 2021, after Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the proposals into law.[5] Senators approved the Senate map on Nov. 1 with a 25-7 vote.[6] Representatives approved the Senate map on Nov. 3 with a 76-26 vote.[5] For the House proposal, representatives voted 68-35 in favor on Nov. 1 and senators followed on Nov. 3 with a 22-7 vote.[7] These maps took effect for Alabama's 2022 legislative elections.
How does redistricting in Alabama work? The Alabama State Legislature is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. Both chambers of the state legislature must approve a single redistricting plan. State legislative district lines must be approved in the first legislative session following the United States Census. There is no statutory deadline for congressional redistricting. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.[8]
The Alabama Constitution requires that state legislative district lines be contiguous. In addition, the state constitution mandates that state Senate districts "follow county lines except where necessary to comply with other legal requirements."[8]
In 2000, according to All About Redistricting, the legislative committee charged with redistricting "adopted guidelines ... asking that [congressional] districts be contiguous, reasonably compact, follow county lines where possible, and maintain communities of interest to the extent feasible." In addition, the committee agreed to "attempt to avoid contests between incumbents." Similar guidelines apply to state legislative redistricting. At its discretion, the state legislature may change these guidelines, which are non-binding.[8]
Alabama House of Representatives District 78
until November 8, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Alabama House of Representatives District 78
starting November 9, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
General election
General election for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Incumbent Kenyatté Hassell won election in the general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kenyatté Hassell (D) | 97.8 | 6,991 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.2 | 160 | ||
| Total votes: 7,151 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Kenyatté Hassell advanced from the Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 78.
2021
A special election for District 78 of the Alabama House of Representatives was called for September 7, 2021. A special primary election took place on May 25, 2021. A primary runoff took place on June 22. The candidate filing deadline was March 23, 2021, for major political parties and May 25, 2021, for independent and minor political parties.[9]
The seat became vacant after Kirk Hatcher (D) was elected to the Alabama State Senate in a special election on March 2, 2021.
General election
Special general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Kenyatté Hassell defeated Loretta Grant in the special general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on September 7, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kenyatté Hassell (D) | 80.2 | 1,031 |
 | Loretta Grant (R) | 19.8 | 254 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1 | ||
| Total votes: 1,286 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary runoff election
Special Democratic primary runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Kenyatté Hassell defeated Donald Williams in the special Democratic primary runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on June 22, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kenyatté Hassell | 64.8 | 678 |
| Donald Williams | 35.2 | 368 | |
| Total votes: 1,046 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Kenyatté Hassell and Donald Williams advanced to a runoff. They defeated Terance Dawson and Roderick Thornton in the special Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on May 25, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kenyatté Hassell | 48.1 | 554 |
| ✔ | | Donald Williams | 23.0 | 265 |
| Terance Dawson | 18.9 | 218 | |
| Roderick Thornton | 9.9 | 114 | |
| Total votes: 1,151 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Loretta Grant advanced from the special Republican primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 78.
2018
General election
General election for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Kirk Hatcher defeated Tijuanna Adetunji in the general election for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kirk Hatcher (D) | 83.4 | 9,506 |
| Tijuanna Adetunji (Independent) | 16.3 | 1,860 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 30 | ||
| Total votes: 11,396 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Kirk Hatcher defeated incumbent Alvin Holmes in the Democratic primary runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on July 17, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kirk Hatcher | 58.7 | 1,704 |
 | Alvin Holmes | 41.3 | 1,200 | |
| Total votes: 2,904 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 78
Incumbent Alvin Holmes and Kirk Hatcher advanced to a runoff. They defeated Terance Dawson in the Democratic primary for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alvin Holmes | 45.9 | 2,116 |
| ✔ | | Kirk Hatcher | 37.6 | 1,736 |
| Terance Dawson | 16.5 | 759 | |
| Total votes: 4,611 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
Elections for the Alabama House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014; a runoff election took place where necessary on July 15, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 7, 2014. Incumbent Alvin Holmes was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Tijuana Adetunji was unopposed in the Republican primary. Holmes then defeated Adetunji in the general election.[10][11][12][13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Alvin Holmes Incumbent |
72.5% | 6,998 | |
| Republican | Tijuana Adetunji | 27.3% | 2,637 | |
| NA | Write-In | 0.1% | 11 | |
| Total Votes | 9,646 | |||
2010
Elections for the office of Alabama House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on June 1, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 2, 2010. Incumbent Alvin Holmes ran unopposed in the June 1 Democratic primary before defeating Larry Thomas (I) in the general election.[15][16][17]
| Alabama House of Representatives District 78, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Alvin Holmes Incumbent |
84.8% | 7,349 | |
| Independent | Larry Thomas | 15.2% | 1,313 | |
| Total Votes | 8,662 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2002 to 2022, candidates for Alabama House of Representatives District 78 raised a total of $653,937. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $36,330 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Alabama House of Representatives District 78 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $29,875 | 1 | $29,875 |
| 2021 | $103,932 | 5 | $20,786 |
| 2018 | $83,994 | 3 | $27,998 |
| 2014 | $88,160 | 2 | $44,080 |
| 2010 | $92,631 | 2 | $46,316 |
| 2008 | $23,750 | 1 | $23,750 |
| 2006 | $143,189 | 3 | $47,730 |
| 2002 | $88,406 | 1 | $88,406 |
| Total | $653,937 | 18 | $36,330 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Justia, "Alabama Constitution, Article IV, Section 46," accessed November 22, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alabama State Legislature, "The Alabama House of Representatives," accessed December 12, 2013 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "house" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Alabama Legislature, "Code of Alabama," accessed February 5, 2021 (Section 17-15-1)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alabama Legislature, "Code of Alabama," accessed February 5, 2021 (Section 17-15-3)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Montgomery Advertiser, "Gov. Kay Ivey signs off on Alabama congressional, legislative, SBOE maps for 2022," Nov. 4, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Political Reporter, "Alabama Senate passes Senate, State School Board districts," Nov. 1, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Political Report, "House district lines comfortably pass House over objections from both sides ," Nov. 1, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 All About Redistricting, "Alabama," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ STL News, "Alabama Governor: Special Election Dates for House District 78," March 8, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Democrats, "Qualified candidates for public office list," accessed February 27, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "State Senate," accessed February 27, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Official Democratic Primary Results," accessed June 20, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Official Republican Primary Results," accessed June 20, 2014
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama 2014 general election: Results for statewide and congressional races," November 4, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "State of Alabama 2010 Certified General Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Democratic Primary results," November 21, 2013
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Republican Primary results," November 21, 2013
