Alabama State Senate District 35
Alabama State Senate District 35 is represented by David Sessions (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Alabama state senators represented an average of 143,716 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 137,228 residents.
About the office
Alabama's senators serve without term limits for four-year terms. Alabama's state senators assume office the day following their election.[1]
Qualifications
Members of the Alabama State Senate must be at least 25 years of age at the time of their election, registered voters, U.S. citizens for at least one day, 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, 2024[3] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $59,674.08/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 and have no overnight stay 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.[4][5][6] The governor has all discretion in setting the date of the election along with the nominating deadlines.[6][7]
See sources: Alabama Code § 17-15-1
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On August 22, 2025, the district court struck down the state senate map as a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.[8]
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.[9] Senators approved the Senate map on Nov. 1 with a 25-7 vote.[10] Representatives approved the Senate map on Nov. 3 with a 76-26 vote.[9] For the House proposal, representatives voted 68-35 in favor on Nov. 1 and senators followed on Nov. 3 with a 22-7 vote.[11] 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.[12]
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."[12]
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.[12]
Alabama State Senate District 35
until November 8, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Alabama State Senate District 35
starting November 9, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
- See also: Alabama State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Alabama State Senate District 35
Incumbent David Sessions defeated Clifton Hudson in the general election for Alabama State Senate District 35 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Sessions (R) | 85.3 | 27,133 |
 | Clifton Hudson (L)  | 14.1 | 4,488 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 189 | ||
| Total votes: 31,810 | |||
| = 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 David Sessions advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama State Senate District 35.
2018
- See also: Alabama State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Alabama State Senate District 35
David Sessions defeated Tom Holmes in the general election for Alabama State Senate District 35 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Sessions (R) | 67.6 | 29,046 |
 | Tom Holmes (D) | 32.3 | 13,896 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 37 | ||
| Total votes: 42,979 (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 Alabama State Senate District 35
Tom Holmes advanced from the Democratic primary for Alabama State Senate District 35 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Tom Holmes |
| ||||
| = 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 Alabama State Senate District 35
David Sessions advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama State Senate District 35 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | David Sessions |
| ||||
| = 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
- See also: Alabama State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Alabama State Senate 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. Beau Doolittle was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Bill Hightower was unopposed in the Republican primary. Hightower then defeated Doolittle in the general election on November 4, 2014.[13][14][15][16][17]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Bill Hightower Incumbent |
73.6% | 19,173 | |
| Democratic | Beau Doolittle | 26.3% | 6,862 | |
| NA | Write-In | 0.1% | 16 | |
| Total Votes | 26,051 | |||
2013
Bill Hightower won a special election for Alabama State Senate District 35. The seat was vacant due to Ben Brooks' (R) election as a circuit judge in Mobile County on November 6, 2012. Once he was sworn into the new position a special election had to be held to fill the vacancy. A special primary was scheduled for January 29, 2013. Candidates had until December 13, 2012 to file. After no Democrats filed, the primary became the general election. A runoff between the top two vote-getters, Hightower and Jim Barton, took place March 12, which Hightower won.[18][19][20][21]
Campaign contributions
From 2002 to 2022, candidates for Alabama State Senate District 35 raised a total of $4,047,616. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $252,976 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Alabama State Senate District 35 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $281,138 | 2 | $140,569 |
| 2018 | $409,966 | 2 | $204,983 |
| 2014 | $332,946 | 2 | $166,473 |
| 2012 | $5,740 | 1 | $5,740 |
| 2010 | $360,426 | 2 | $180,213 |
| 2008 | $45,402 | 1 | $45,402 |
| 2006 | $1,677,583 | 3 | $559,194 |
| 2002 | $934,415 | 3 | $311,472 |
| Total | $4,047,616 | 16 | $252,976 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Justia, "Alabama Constitution, Article IV, Section 46," accessed November 22, 2016
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Minimum Qualifications for Public Office," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Alabama Amendment 4, Legislative Vacancies Amendment (2018)," accessed March 28, 2025
- ↑ Justia US Law, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 17 - Elections. Chapter 15 - Special Elections. Section 17-15-1 - When and for What Offices Held." accessed February 26, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Justia US Law, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 17 - Elections. Chapter 15 - Special Elections. Section 17-15-3 - Special Elections Ordered by Governor." accessed February 26, 2025
- ↑ Alabama Legislature, "Constitution of Alabama 2022," accessed February 26, 2025
- ↑ Alabama Reflector, "Federal judge: Alabama Senate map violates Voting Rights Act," August 22, 2025
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 All About Redistricting, "Alabama," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ Alabama Democrats, "Qualified candidates for public office list," accessed February 25, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "State Senate," accessed February 25, 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
- ↑ Local 15, "Ala. Senate District 35 to Hold Special Election," December 4, 2012
- ↑ Al.com, "Three Republicans qualify for state Senate District 35 special election," December 12, 2012
- ↑ Local 15, "District 35 State Senate Race Goes to a Run-off," January 29, 2013
- ↑ CBS42.com, "Hightower wins Alabama Senate District 35 runoff," March 12, 2013 (dead link)
