Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Oct. 19
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: N/A
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 2 (postmarked); Nov. 3 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| Alabama's 6th Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: November 8, 2019 |
| Primary: March 3, 2020 Primary runoff: July 14, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Gary Palmer (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Alabama |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th Alabama elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
All U.S. congressional districts, including the 6th Congressional District of Alabama, held elections in 2020.
Incumbent Gary Palmer won election in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Gary Palmer, who was first elected in 2014.
The 6th District is located in central Alabama and includes Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, and Shelby counties as well as portions of Blount and Jefferson counties.[1]
Post-election analysis
The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
| Presidential and congressional election results, Alabama's 6th Congressional District, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Presidential | U.S. House |
Democratic candidate  |
31.8 | 0 |
Republican candidate  |
67 | 97.1 |
| Difference | 35.2 | 97.1 |
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Alabama modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Any qualified voter could cast an absentee ballot in the general election.
- Candidate filing procedures: The petition deadline for unaffiliated presidential candidates was extended to August 20, 2020.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. House Alabama District 6
Incumbent Gary Palmer defeated Kaynen Pellegrino in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gary Palmer (R) | 97.1 | 274,160 |
 | Kaynen Pellegrino (Independent) (Write-in)  | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.9 | 8,101 | ||
| Total votes: 282,261 | |||
| = 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. Incumbent Gary Palmer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+26, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 26 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alabama's 6th Congressional District the 13th most Republican nationally.[2]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.78. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.78 points toward that party.[3]
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[4] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[5] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Palmer | Republican Party | $919,678 | $921,542 | $370,688 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Kaynen Pellegrino | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[6]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[7][8][9]
| Race ratings: Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
Candidate ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for 6th Congressional District candidates in Alabama in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Alabama, click here.
| Filing requirements, 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| Alabama | 6th Congressional District | Democratic | N/A | N/A | $3,480.00 | 2% of base salary | 11/8/2019 | Source |
| Alabama | 6th Congressional District | Republican | N/A | N/A | $3,480.00 | 2% of base salary | 11/8/2019 | Source |
| Alabama | 6th Congressional District | Unaffiliated | 8,434 | 3% of qualified electors who voted for governor in the last general election | N/A | N/A | 3/3/2020 | Source |
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states. No counties in Alabama are Pivot Counties.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Alabama with 62.1 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 34.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Alabama voted Democratic 53.33 percent of the time and Republican 40 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Alabama voted Republican all five times.
District election history
District election history
General election
General election for U.S. House Alabama District 6
Incumbent Gary Palmer defeated Danner Kline in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gary Palmer (R) | 69.2 | 192,542 |
 | Danner Kline (D) | 30.8 | 85,644 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 142 | ||
| Total votes: 278,328 (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 election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6
Danner Kline advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Danner Kline |
| ||||
| = 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
Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6
Incumbent Gary Palmer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Gary Palmer |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Gary Palmer (R) defeated David Putman (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. They were both uncontested in the primary.[10][11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Gary Palmer Incumbent |
74.5% | 245,313 | |
| Democratic | David Putman | 25.4% | 83,709 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 284 | |
| Total Votes | 329,306 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State | ||||
2014
The 6th Congressional District of Alabama held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Gary Palmer (R) defeated Mark Lester (D) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Gary Palmer |
76.2% | 135,945 | |
| Democratic | Mark Lester | 23.7% | 42,291 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 213 | |
| Total Votes | 178,449 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State | ||||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ The New York Times, "Alabama Primary Results," accessed March 1, 2016
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "2016 Qualified Alabama Republican Candidates," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Alabama Democrats, "Qualified Democratic Candidates as of November 6, 2015," accessed November 10, 2015
