Republican Kristin Nelson wins District 38 seat
BY JOHN BRICE AND STAFF
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
CHAMBERS COUNTY — Voters in portions of Lee and Chambers Counties went to the polls on Tuesday, Feb. 3 for the Special General Election in Alabama House District 38.
With 100% of precincts reporting, the results are as follows:
• Kristin Nelson (Republican): 2,958 votes, 83.65%
• Hazel Floyd (Democrat): 575 votes, 16.26%
• Write-in: 3 votes, 0.08%
Based on the results, Nelson has won the Special General Election and will serve as the next State Representative for Alabama House District 38. This seat became vacant last year when former State Representative Debbie Wood relocated outside the district.
Alabama Republican Party Director of Legislative Affairs & Communications Jeannie Burniston released the following statement:
“I want to congratulate Kristin Nelson on a well-earned victory in House District 38,” Burniston said. “Kristin has proven herself to be a tireless advocate for conservative values and effective leadership, and voters across Lee and Chambers Counties clearly recognized that. Kristin has done an outstanding job serving as our Chambers County Republican Chairman, where she has consistently worked to reach voters throughout the county and strengthen our party at the grassroots level. We are proud to see Republicans hold this seat and confident that Kristin will serve the people of House District 38 with integrity and dedication.”
With the election results officially announced by Chambers County Probate Court Judge Paul Story, Nelson was joined by her immediate family as she was sworn into office by District Judge Terrence A. Brown. After her swearing in, Nelson shared her feelings about her electoral victory.
“It feels amazing to have reached the finality for a little while,” she said. “This has just been an incredible experience. I have been blessed by great opponents. That is one thing that in the very beginning, I was like I will not run smear campaigns. I hope by that example that all of my opponents have followed suit. Really, they are just good people. They have great hearts as well and so I am very thankful for that first and foremost.”
Nelson reflected on the support she recieved throughout the election season, thanking voters, family and her faith.
“I am just thankful that the people see something in me and have elected me to represent District 38,” she said. “ I am so excited. I honestly never really thought that I would run for public office. My husband always said from the time we met that he would run for sheriff one day, and I thought that he would be the politician in the family. But I believe that the Lord closes doors and opens doors as He sees fits in His will. When this opportunity presented itself and I looked back over the trajectory of my life I was just like, ‘ok, Lord, you have been preparing me for this.’ I truly just think that it was what He asked me to step into. I tried to keep my hands open to be obedient to Him and here we are.”
Now the District 38 representative, Nelson said she is thankful for those who shared her campaign and exercised their right to vote.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for turning out,” she said. “I know that a special election is difficult but you paid attention. You texted your friends and neighbors and got them out to vote. Thank you for all the hard work that you put in because really it comes down to voters. If you don’t have voters, you don’t have an election.”
