4 Democrats vie for central Alabama congressional seat in special primary election

Democratic voters in Alabama’s 6th Congressional District will choose between four candidates in the special primary election next month.

Jacob Bouma-Sims, Ashtyn Kennedy, Maurice Mercer and Keith Pilkington are campaigning to represent the district, which covers central Alabama counties including Shelby, Autauga, Elmore and part of Jefferson.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face either current U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, or his Republican opponent Case Dixon in the November general election. The district leans Republican. 

After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed the state to use a 2023 voting map previously deemed racially discriminatory, lawmakers held a special session in May, and Gov. Kay Ivey called for a special primary election to be held for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts.

The candidates

Pilkington, a nurse, initially qualified for the seat in January. He said in a recent interview that he decided to run because he wants to address problems that he said have persisted since he was a child.

“It seemed to me we were repeating a pattern, and focusing on improving the economy and affordability was a way of mitigating that, and so that’s why I decided to run,” he said.

Pilkington said one of his priorities is creating housing options.

“Affordable housing is a big deal across the nation. But Alabama has an advantage in building modular homes, manufactured homes … that industry can explode in Alabama,” he said.

Kennedy, a social media content creator, said while she didn’t qualify in January like she wanted to, after seeing the special session in May, she had to enter the race.

“When they reopened qualifiers, I just realized the gravity of the situation, and looking at who I’m up against in this district and what that means for the bigger picture,” she said in a recent interview.

Kennedy said in an email on Friday if elected, she wants to support a data center moratorium bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and wants to work with state officials to create a data center moratorium for Alabama as well.

“Why do we have so many already? And what are they for? Where’s the data going?” she asked during an interview last week.

In an interview last Thursday, Mercer, a former Pelham City Councilman, criticized Palmer for not sticking by a campaign promise when he first ran for the House in 2014 to limit himself to 10 years in the U.S. House. 

According to a 2023 report from Al.com, when Palmer initially ran for office, he pledged to only serve 10 years but changed his mind when he decided to seek reelection in 2024, saying God told him to run for another term.

“This is a person who had term-limited himself to only running up to 10 years, and he’s already been there 12,” he said. “And so that makes you say, ‘Hmm, you know, are you a man of your word there?’”

In 2021, U.S. Terms Limits, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to setting term limits in all levels of government, released a statement saying Palmer did not keep his promise to support term limits for U.S. House and Senate members.

Mercer said one thing he’d like to do is increase the minimum wage.

“I’ve been a small business owner. I recognize that you know every small business owner cannot afford certain rates, but certainly you know $7.25 is not a livable wage,” he said.

Bouma-Sims said last week he’s running with a plan to “end the Alabama power monopoly” by making it a federal issue.

“The Tennessee Valley Authority has better service and lower prices than Alabama Power, and so that’s kind of my model for what I would call the Cahaba River Corporation, which would be established as a federally owned alternative. It’s not a takeover of Alabama power, it’s not abolishing Alabama Power with the swipe of a pen, it’s an alternative,” he said.

Energy regulations are typically set by the state. During the 2026 regular session, the Legislature passed a bill that would expand the number of people who can serve on the Public Service Commission from three to seven members. 

All candidates said they’ve been navigating confusion from voters as they campaign, including people who don’t know that an election is happening or what district they’re in.

“​​It’s just a lot of education because of how fast everything has been happening, and so that has been the one downside of the process is you know there’s still so much confusion,” Mercer said.

Kennedy said the confusion is “another tactic” to suppress voters.

“They (state officials) say they have stuff uploaded, but they could do so much more. And the people who know it’s on August 11th, they don’t know why, or they think, ‘Well, do I have to vote Republican because I voted Republican in May and in June?’ And it’s like, no, no, no, no, no. This is all new,” she said.

In order to combat the confusion, Kennedy said she talks about voting and the upcoming election whenever possible.

“I’m bringing up voting even when I’m just hanging out with friends,” she said. “Also, making social media posts (and) having my friends do it. I have volunteers on my campaign also posting about (the election), but just really trying to spread the word out with what we’ve got because you know we don’t have the money for these big advertisements.”

Bouma-Sims said no matter what the outcome of the special election is, Democrats need to come together.

“I want all of us Democratic candidates to come together and fight for that solution of ending gerrymandering nationwide, because this has to stop,” he said. “It’s bad for the people. It’s exhausting. It’s not democratic, and it’s not how our country or our state is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be the people choosing the representatives, not the representatives choosing their people.”

Campaign finances

As of Thursday afternoon, according to the Federal Elections Commission, Kennedy has raised $9,100 and spent $8,700 while Mercer has raised $6,500 and spent $4,700. No other Democrats have reported any campaign filings.