Alabama's 6th Congressional District

Alabama's 6th Congressional District

Incumbent

Gary Palmer

Assumed office: January 3, 2015

Alabama's 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Gary Palmer (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Alabama representatives represented an average of 718,579 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 686,140 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Incumbent Gary Palmer and Elizabeth Anderson are running in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Gary Palmer (R)
		Elizabeth Anderson (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kevin Stewart (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Elizabeth Anderson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Austin Vigue (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Incumbent Gary Palmer defeated Gerrick Wilkins and Ken McFeeters in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary Palmer	83.2	76,488
		Gerrick Wilkins	10.6	9,701
		Ken McFeeters	6.2	5,705

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 91,894
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Incumbent Gary Palmer defeated Andria Chieffo in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary Palmer (R)	83.7	154,233
		Andria Chieffo (L)	15.1	27,833
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	2,137

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 184,203
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Gary Palmer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6.

2020

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Incumbent Gary Palmer defeated Kaynen Pellegrino in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary Palmer (R)	97.1	274,160
		Kaynen Pellegrino (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	2.9	8,101

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 282,261
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Gary Palmer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Anders Pope Allen (R)

2018

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Incumbent Gary Palmer defeated Danner Kline in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary Palmer (R)	69.2	192,542
		Danner Kline (D)	30.8	85,644
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	142

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 278,328 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Danner Kline advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Danner Kline

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6

Incumbent Gary Palmer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 6 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Gary Palmer

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Gary Palmer (R) defeated David Putman (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. They were both uncontested in the primary.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gary Palmer Incumbent	74.5%	245,313
	Democratic	David Putman	25.4%	83,709
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	284
Total Votes				329,306
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

2014

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 6th Congressional District of Alabama held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Gary Palmer (R) defeated Mark Lester (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gary Palmer	76.2%	135,945
	Democratic	Mark Lester	23.7%	42,291
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	213
Total Votes				178,449
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

2012

See also: Alabama's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 6th Congressional District of Alabama held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Spencer Bachus won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Penny H. Bailey	28.6%	88,267
	Republican	Spencer Bachus Incumbent	71.2%	219,262
	N/A	Write-In	0.2%	573
Total Votes				308,102
Source: Alabama Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	100%	205,288
Total Votes				205,288

2008
On November 4, 2008, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	100%	280,902
Total Votes				280,902

2006
On November 7, 2006, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	100%	163,514
Total Votes				163,514

2004
On November 2, 2004, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	100%	264,819
Total Votes				264,819

2002
On November 5, 2002, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated J. Holden McAllister (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	90.1%	178,171
	Libertarian	J. Holden McAllister	9.9%	19,639
Total Votes				197,810

2000
On November 7, 2000, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Terry Reagin (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	88.3%	212,751
	Libertarian	Terry Reagin	11.7%	28,189
Total Votes				240,940

1998
On November 3, 1998, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Donna Wesson Smalley (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	71.8%	154,761
	Democratic	Donna Wesson Smalley	28.2%	60,657
Total Votes				215,418

1996
On November 5, 1996, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Mary Lynn Bates (D), T. Franklin Harris (L) and Diane Susan Vogel (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	71%	180,781
	Democratic	Mary Lynn Bates	27.3%	69,592
	Libertarian	T. Franklin Harris	0.9%	2,293
	Natural Law	Diane Susan Vogel	0.8%	2,113
Total Votes				254,779

1994
On November 8, 1994, Spencer Bachus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Larry Fortenberry (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus incumbent	79.1%	155,047
	Democratic	Larry Fortenberry	20.9%	41,030
Total Votes				196,077

1992
On November 3, 1992, Spencer Bachus won election to the United States House. He defeated Ben Erdeich (D), Carla Cloum (I) and Mark Bodenhausen (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Spencer Bachus	52.4%	146,599
	Democratic	Ben Erdeich incumbent	45%	126,062
	Independent	Carla Cloum	1.6%	4,521
	Libertarian	Mark Bodenhausen	1%	2,836
Total Votes				280,018

1990
On November 6, 1990, Ben Erdreich won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David Alvarez (I) and Nathaniel Ivory (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Alabama District 6 General Election, 1990
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Erdreich incumbent	92.8%	134,412
	Independent	David Alvarez	6%	8,640
	Independent	Nathaniel Ivory	1.2%	1,745
Total Votes				144,797

District map

The map below shows this district's current boundaries, not those adopted for the 2024 election cycle.

Redistricting

2020-2023

See also: Redistricting in Alabama after the 2020 census

On October 5, 2023, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama approved a new congressional district map. The map created a new district with a 48.7% Black voting-age population. In its decision, the panel said that "this plan satisfies all constitutional and statutory requirements while hewing as closely as reasonably possible to the Alabama legislature’s 2023 Plan."

A three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled on September 5, 2023, that the revised congressional district boundaries that the Alabama legislature enacted on July 21, 2023, were not in accordance with the Voting Rights Act. The state adopted the revised congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 8, 2023, that the state's congressional redistricting plan adopted on November 4, 2021, violated the Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn to include a second majority-black district. The federal district court's order said, "this Court concluded that the 2023 Plan did not remedy the likely Section 2 violation found by this Court and affirmed by the Supreme Court. We, therefore, preliminarily enjoined Secretary Allen from using the 2023 Plan in Alabama’s upcoming 2024 congressional elections."

On September 26, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state's request to use the district boundaries overturned by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The decision was unanimous, with none of the justices dissenting. The ruling allowed for the continuation of Special Master Richard Allen's proposed district maps by a panel of federal judges. Lead plaintiff Evan Milligan said the ruling was a "victory for all Alabamians" and "definitely a really positive step." Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office had not issued a statement on the decision as of September 26.

The federal district court ordered its Special Master to submit three proposed remedial plans with the court by September 25, 2023, that comply with the Voting Rights Act and "traditional redistricting principles to the extent reasonably practicable." Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen's office said it would appeal the federal court's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. A spokesperson for Allen issued a statement which said, "While we are disappointed in today’s decision, we strongly believe that the legislature’s map complies with the Voting Rights Act and the recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. We intend to promptly seek review from the Supreme Court to ensure that the State can use its lawful congressional districts in 2024 and beyond." Special Master Richard Allen submitted the three maps for the judges' consideration on September 25. One map would create a second congressional district in southeastern Alabama with a 50.1% Black voting-age population, while the other two would create districts with either a 48.7% or 48.5% Black population.

How does redistricting in Alabama work? The Alabama State Legislature is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. Both chambers of the state legislature must approve a single redistricting plan. State legislative district lines must be approved in the first legislative session following the United States Census. There is no statutory deadline for congressional redistricting. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.

The Alabama Constitution requires that state legislative district lines be contiguous. In addition, the state constitution mandates that state Senate districts "follow county lines except where necessary to comply with other legal requirements."

In 2000, according to All About Redistricting, the legislative committee charged with redistricting "adopted guidelines ... asking that [congressional] districts be contiguous, reasonably compact, follow county lines where possible, and maintain communities of interest to the extent feasible." In addition, the committee agreed to "attempt to avoid contests between incumbents." Similar guidelines apply to state legislative redistricting. At its discretion, the state legislature may change these guidelines, which are non-binding.

Below are the congressional maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Alabama’s 2024 congressional elections.

Alabama District 6
before 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Alabama District 6
after 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 6th Congressional District of Alabama after the 2001 redistricting process. The current district is displayed in the infobox at the top of the page.

See also: Redistricting in Alabama after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Alabama State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census. Alabama did not gain or lose any seats from the reapportionment after the 2010 census. The state population increased by more than 300,000 residents, about 7.5 percent. The Alabama Legislative Committee on Reapportionment is responsible for drafting plans for redistricting and, with majorities in both the state Senate and state House and control of the governorship, Republicans were in charge for the first time in 12 decades.

The map was passed by the legislature in June 2011, quickly signed by the governor and approved by the U.S. Department of Justice on November 21. The map was expected to strengthen the seats of the Republican delegation, allowing them to hold on to their 6-1 majority.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+22. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 22 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alabama's 6th the 27th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 68.4%-30.4%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alabama's 6th the 52nd most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 34.4% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 64.4%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+26. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 26 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Alabama's 6th Congressional District the 13th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.78. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.78 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Alabama
• Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
• Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
• Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
• Alabama's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 6

Footnotes

[show]

Alabama's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Katie Britt (R)

Tommy Tuberville (R)

Representatives

District 1

Jerry Carl (R)

District 2

Barry Moore (R)

District 3

Mike Rogers (R)

District 4

Robert Aderholt (R)

District 5

Dale Strong (R)

District 6

Gary Palmer (R)

District 7

Terri Sewell (D)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (1)