Democratic candidates Andrew Sneed and Candice Dollar Duvieilh are headed to a runoff after Tuesday night’s Democratic primary in Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, with the winner advancing to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) in November’s general election.
According to unofficial results from the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, Sneed received 42% of the vote while Duvieilh secured 36%. Fellow Democratic candidate Jeremy Devito finished with 22%.
Because no candidate surpassed the 50% threshold required to win outright, the top two finishers will advance to a June 16 runoff election.
Strong was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Sneed, a Huntsville plumber and former union member, centered his campaign on lowering costs for working families, expanding healthcare access and reforming Congress. He also founded the “Take BAC Congress” movement, a coalition advocating for government accountability and congressional reform.
Duvieilh campaigned on what she described as practical leadership focused on education, healthcare access, economic growth and support for North Alabama’s defense and aerospace economy.
Whichever candidate secures the Democratic nomination will likely face an uphill climb in one of Alabama’s most reliably Republican congressional districts.
Strong ran unopposed in 2024 and received 95.4% of the vote in the general election, collecting more than 250,000 votes districtwide.
In 2022, Strong defeated Democrat Kathy Warner-Stanton and Libertarian candidate P.J. Greer with more than 67% of the vote in the open-seat race following former Congressman Mo Brooks’ departure from Congress.
Political analysts continue to rate Alabama’s 5th Congressional District as strongly Republican. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, the district currently carries an R+15 rating, meaning it has voted significantly more Republican than the national average in recent presidential elections.
The district, which includes Huntsville and much of North Alabama, has remained under Republican control since former Democratic Congressman Bud Cramer left office in 2009.
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
