Coleman declared winner of House 47 primary

First-time candidate Christian Coleman was officially announced as the winner of the House 47 Democratic primary today following the counting of provisional ballots in the state.

Barry Stephenson, chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Registrars, confirmed there were no provisional ballots received in that primary, meaning Coleman’s election night victory over second-time challenger Jim Toomey stands.

The race to challenge Republican Mike Shaw in November’s general election was a tight one, with Coleman receiving 601 votes and Toomey receiving 596 votes. The day after the election, Toomey said he would wait on any provisional ballots before conceding the race.

Reached by phone on Tuesday, Toomey said he was happy for Coleman and will support him “any way I can” in the general election. Toomey previously ran for the seat in 2018, challenging Republican David Wheeler. While Toomey lost that race, he received about 46% of the vote.

Toomey said he has no plan to run again at this time and encouraged more people to vote. Just more than 20% of Alabama voters made their voices heard in this year’s primary races.

Coleman said it was “exciting” to know he’d be on the November ballot.

“I look forward to putting together a general campaign and talking with everyone in the district, Republican, Democrat and Independent, and talking about the future,” Coleman said.

Shaw is a member of the Hoover City Council and was chosen by the state Republican Party to replace David Wheeler on the ballot. Wheeler, the incumbent, had qualified to run for re-election before his death at the age of 72 in March.