Openly gay former Marine Neil Rafferty appears headed for a runoff in the race for the District 54 seat to replace Patricia Todd in the Alabama State Legislature. Candidates need more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
According to AL.com, “Rafferty won 48 percent or 2,867 votes with 28 out of 29 precincts reporting, according to unofficial results. Miller received 28 percent of 1,667 votes and Jerome Dees, a former Jefferson County deputy district attorney, received 22 percent of 1,340 votes.”
Todd was the first openly gay lawmaker in Alabama. She recently made headlines for asserting that Governor Kay Ivey is a lesbian.
Felicia Stewart, an out lesbian, ran unopposed in the 46th district and will face Republican David Faulkner this November.