Matt Woods, Ryan Cagle square off in Senate District 5 election

Voters go to the polls next week to choose one of two candidates to represent them in Alabama’s Senate District 5, a district including Lamar, Fayette, Walker, the northern half of Tuscaloosa County and the western part of Jefferson County in north central Alabama.

Rep. Matt Woods, R-Jasper, will face Democratic candidate Ryan Cagle, a progressive faith leader and community organizer, in a special election on Tuesday to fill a seat vacated by former Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, R-Jasper, who stepped down at the beginning of the year to join Gov. Kay Ivey’s administration as Senior Advisor to Workforce Transformation. 

Woods in a phone interview Monday described his run for the Senate seat as a “natural progression of (his) public service,” pointing to his commitment to continuing the “strong conservative leadership” and “conservative values,” he said, that have defined the district for years. He cited the passage of the “Alabama Child Protection Act,” a bill he sponsored making it illegal for anyone to create, share, or possess child sexual abuse material, and carrying the “Parents Right to Know Act” in the House, which required schools to post classroom curricula online.

The representative also pointed to his votes in favor of grocery tax cuts and eliminating sales tax on feminine and baby products.

“I will continue to look for ways to provide tax relief for the people of the state while fighting for more jobs and more resources for rural Alabama,” he said.

Cagle said that the state’s policy should better support the community, saying that his decision to run stems from a desire for “proper representation in Montgomery of working-class and vulnerable people in District 5.” Cagle criticized current elected officials for not being “on the ground” and directly addressing issues like poverty and the opioid crisis. He also criticized the influence of lobbyists and big corporations on state leadership, saying that many have been “bought and sold.”

“The system’s not set up for working-class people to run. It privileges wealthy, affluent people in our communities to lead us,” he said, adding that he wants to bring a voice that “reflects the majority of the people’s lives and lived experiences in our district.”

Cagle said that dissatisfaction with the status quo goes beyond party lines, claiming that even Republicans in the district are considering voting for him due to his community work. He said that ongoing problems such as rising poverty, hunger and opioid overdoses stem from electing similar individuals, regardless of their political affiliation.

“I hope that my campaign, if anything else, can be a seed for us beginning to think more critically in District 5, beyond these party lines, and looking toward how we as a community, as a district, can come together and work together and put our people first,” Cagle said.

Woods said he would not “be sitting still (on) day one.” If elected, he plans to re-introduce bills to increase the criminal penalties for making violent threats, such as a bomb threat, to schools, and a bill aimed at expanding broadband internet resources in underserved areas. The legislation would remove state sales tax on broadband equipment funded by federal grants to allow more of the grant money to be used for infrastructure development.

Woods did not answer how he would propose handling federal budget cuts being floated by Congress, which could cut an estimated $5.54 billion in federal funding to Alabama for SNAP and Medicaid over 10 years in the House proposal, but said his priority is on rural health care and providing access to medical care in underserved areas. Regarding potential changes to the Department of Education, such as a proposal to eliminate it, Woods said he believes that the state would be able to provide a “common-sense Alabama-based education.”

Cagle called for “reprioritizing what we want for the state and what we want the community.” He said he opposes cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP, but also argued that the state can make up the difference with resources he said are often mismanaged, saying that a majority of the land in Alabama is owned by “a handful of people,” preventing potential tax revenue. He was also critical of the “CHOOSE Act,” which expands funding for private schools and homeschooling, arguing it’s a “poor stewardship of our money and resources” that primarily benefits “wealthy, affluent Alabamians” and underfunds public schools.

Considering Republicans’ supermajority in the Senate, Cagle said that if elected he would engage in “bridge building.” He said that he would draw from his experience organizing, saying that “the work of caring for our community has transcended those boundaries.”

“This is the first battle of many. It’s time for change,” Cagle said.

Matt Woods

Age: 43

Residence: Jasper

Occupation: Owner, Jasper Auto Sales

Education: B.S., Business Administration, Auburn University, 2004.

Party: Republican

Previous political experience: Alabama state representative, 2022-present.

Fundraising: Through June 13, Woods had raised $367,193 and spent $161,973.

 

Ryan Cagle

Age: 34

Residence: Parrish

Occupation: Communications professional, volunteer co-director of Jubilee House Community nonprofit

Education: Master in Divinity, Social Transformation, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, 2025; Master of Arts, Ecological Justice, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, in progress.

Party: Democratic

Previous political experience: First-time candidate

Fundraising: Through June 13, Cagle had raised $8,450 and spent $4,829.

This story was updated at 10:38 a.m. to clarify Senate District 5 includes a part of Jefferson County.