2026 Alabama State Board of Education election

2026 Alabama State Board of Education election

November 3, 2026

5 of 9 members of the Alabama State Board of Education
  First party Second party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 7 2

Map of the incumbents
     Democratic incumbent
     Republican incumbent
     Republican incumbent term-limited
     No election

The 2026 Alabama State Board of Education election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect five members to the Alabama State Board of Education. Primary elections were held on May 19.

District 2

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Tracie West, incumbent board member[1]

Endorsements

Tracie West

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of July 31, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Jamie McCurry (D) $1,109 $0 $0 $1,109
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]

District 4

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Yvette Richardson, incumbent board member

District 6

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Cathi Bradford, educator[5]
Eliminated in primary
  • Marie Manning, incumbent board member

Endorsements

Cathi Bradford
Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of May 18, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Cathi Bradford (R) $38,280 $9,000 $45,032 $2,248
Marie Manning (R) $26,229 $45,000 $64,653 $10,080
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]

Results

Republican primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cathi Bradford 35,615 53.96
Republican Marie Manning (incumbent) 30,388 46.04
Total votes 66,003 100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Angela Morgan, retired educator[3]

General election

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of July 31, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Cathi Bradford (R) $50,330 $9,150 $58,817 $-1,337
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]

District 8

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
Advanced to runoff
  • William Matthews[9]
Eliminated in primary
Declined
  • Wayne Reynolds, incumbent board member[11]

Endorsements

Emily Jones
Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of May 18, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Emily Jones (R) $30,389 $0 $27,791 $2,598
William Matthews (R) $23,609 $18,000 $31,778 $9,830
Connie Spears (R) $19,565 $17,761 $27,914 $9,411
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]

Results

Republican primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Emily Jones 16,409 42.73
Republican William Matthews 11,731 30.55
Republican Connie Spears 10,259 26.72
Total votes 38,399 100.00

Runoff

Fundraising
Campaign finance reports as of June 15, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Emily Jones (R) $36,314 $0 $31,302 $5,223
William Matthews (R) $96,359 $25,000 $121,142 $216
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]
Results
Republican primary runoff
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Emily Jones 18,629 53.55
Republican William Matthews 16,162 46.45
Total votes 34,791 100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Shatika Armstrong, educator[13]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of May 18, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Shatika Armstrong (D) $8,111 $0 $7,432 $679
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]

General election

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of July 31, 2026
Candidate Raised Other receipts Spent Cash on hand
Emily Jones (R) $36,814 $0 $33,124 $3,960
Shatika Armstrong (D) $18,382 $0 $14,322 $4,060
Source: Alabama FCPA[4]

Ex-officio

As the Governor of Alabama serves as a voting member of the Board of Education, the concurrent gubernatorial election will be one of the five positions up for election.

References

  1. โ†‘ "Tracie West announces reelection campaign for Board of Education". Alabama Political Reporter. January 9, 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  2. โ†‘ "Alabama REALTORS PAC announces endorsements ahead of May 19 Republican primary". Yellowhammer News. March 26, 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 Tinker, Angela (May 19, 2026). "Voters get competitive State Board of Education primaries in northern and eastern Alabama". Alabama Reflector. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Political Race Search". Alabama FCPA. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  5. โ†‘ Taylor, Daniel (November 17, 2025). "Air Force veteran, educator Cathi Bradford launches campaign for State Board of Education". 1819 News. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  6. โ†‘ Taylor, Daniel (March 27, 2026). "Eagle Forum PAC endorses Cathi Bradford for State Board of Education". 1819 News. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Unofficial Election Night Results". Secretary of State of Alabama. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  8. โ†‘ Taylor, Daniel (March 20, 2025). "Moms for Liberty's Emily Jones launches campaign for State Board of Education". 1819 News. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  9. โ†‘ "Qualified 2026 Republican Candidates". Alabama Republican Party. January 8, 2026.
  10. โ†‘ "City Council representative announces run for state board of education". The Madison Record. October 1, 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  11. โ†‘ Zeigler, Jim (August 14, 2025). "SBOE's Wayne Reynolds not running for re-election in 2026". 1819 News. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  12. โ†‘ Taylor, Caleb (June 5, 2026). "ALFA endorses Emily Jones for State Board of Education Place 8". 1819 News. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  13. โ†‘ "Shatika Armstrong". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 27, 2026.