MADISON — Madison business owner Aaron Thomas says he’s stepped into the race for Alabama House District 10 with a clear mission: to bring “common sense governance” to one of the state’s most closely watched legislative contests.
Thomas, who operates four restaurants in North Alabama and has lived in Madison County since 1999, said Republican leaders have viewed the seat as a priority since Democrat Marilyn Lands won the special election in 2024.
“When she won that special election, the Democrats took that as kind of a morale boost and a rallying cry for the troops,” Thomas said.
He noted the national spotlight Lands received: “She got an invitation to the DNC … I know she was on Wolf Blitzer and a bunch of other guys talking about how a new day was coming in Alabama.”
Thomas said the significance of District 10 which includes all of Redstone Arsenal put the seat at the center of GOP strategy from the moment it flipped.
“Every square inch of Redstone Arsenal falls within the confines of HD-10, and Redstone brings in 12% of the state’s GDP,” he said. “The Republican Party pretty much began planning to take it back day one.”
‘A blessing and a curse’
A first-time candidate, Thomas said the race’s high profile comes with advantages and complications.
“The blessing of the scrutiny and the attention level of this race is that it’s been very easy to find support and enthusiasm,” he said. “The curse is that everybody has an opinion on how things should be run … as a newcomer to the political landscape, there’s no shortage of advice. You just have to figure out which advice is good.”
Even so, he said the energy surrounding the campaign has been encouraging.
“It’s been wonderful to see how much people care about the race,” he said.
Affordability and infrastructure
Thomas said the issues he hears most frequently from residents regardless of party center on basic cost-of-living challenges.
“When I’m doing canvassing … the two biggest ones that I’ve always come across are affordability and infrastructure,” he said. “There are a lot of cultural hot-button issues, but those don’t necessarily affect everybody. Everybody is dealing with traffic. Everybody does suffer from inflation.
“Everybody does experience sticker shock when they go to check out at Walmart.”
He said his goal is to refocus policymaking that cuts across party lines.
“We have to get back to common sense governance,” Thomas said. “Those two things, affordability and infrastructure, are critical.”
Panama to Huntsville
Thomas spent part of his childhood in Panama, where his father worked as a civil servant. His family moved to Huntsville in 1999. Seeing the city for the first time, he said, left an immediate impression.
“When you go from a third-world country to Rocket City and you can see things like the Saturn V get stacked up right next to the highway, as a 9-year-old kid, that was amazing,” he said.
Today, Thomas and his wife, “the first girl I ever dated,” he noted, have two daughters.
“For me, it’s just a tremendous blessing to be able to re-contribute to the environment that gave me all the blessings that I have,” he said.
Representing District 10
District 10 has been described as politically competitive, but Thomas said he believes voters of all backgrounds respond to practical solutions.
“When people say that it’s a purple district, ultimately the constituents are going to vote for the person that they believe is going to govern the district best,” he said. “A lot of these issues, they’re not Democrat, Republican issues. They are simply quality-of-life issues.”
Thomas said he expects his focus on everyday concerns to resonate widely.
“I guarantee you there’s not somebody who’s been an independent or Democrat voter who’s not going to support somebody that promises to do things like focus on grocery taxes or eliminate unnecessary business regulations,” he said. “People don’t need the government coming after little Johnny because of his lemonade stand.”
The state primary election is May 19, 2026.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
