By Staff
Abercrombie defeats incumbent
By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Morgan County voters elected a new commissioner for District No. 4 and gave a former two-term commissioner a big boost in his bid to regain the District No. 3 seat in Tuesday’s Primary Election.
Greg Abercrombie, a dairy farmer from Valhermoso Springs, easily defeated incumbent Stacy George in his bid for the Republican Party nomination for Morgan County Commission, District No. 4. Complete but unofficial total showed Abercrombie with 62 percent, or 7,700 votes, compared to 38 percent, or 4,632 votes, for his opponent. Abercrombie faces no Democratic opposition in November.
George, the first Republican elected to office in Morgan County, was seeking his third term in office. A controversial figure who often took on other members of the commission, George won 12 of 58 precincts. He made an unsuccessful bid for Sheriff last year.
Don Stisher, who served on the commission as a Democrat from 1996 to 2004 edged out incumbent Kevin Murphy for the right to represent the Republican Party in the November General Election for the District 3 commission seat. He polled 52 percent, or 5,978 votes, to Murphy’s 48 percent, or 5,480 votes. He will face Democratic Party nominee Bill Fowler, who was unopposed in the primary, in November.
“I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to carrying our campaign into November,” Stisher said.. “I deeply appreciate the support and encouragement I have received from my family and friends and thank everyone who voted for me. I strongly believe that Morgan County has the resources and potential to be a model for the rest of the state and I want to be a part of making that happen.”
The election recorded 14,637 votes or about 23 percent of the county’s approximately 65,000 voters participating. Of that number, Republicans accounted for 12,579 votes while Democrats had 2,058 votes,
Langham, Craig win primaries
Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
By a margin of less than 1 percent, Charles Langham managed to hold off two opponents and claim the Republican nomination for Morgan County District Judge Place Three.
Langham received 6,015 votes, or 50.88 percent, to opponent’s Catherine Phillips Halbrooks’ 4,613 votes, or 39 percent. The third candidate in the race, Huel Harris, received 1,194 votes or 10 percent.
Langham had previously been named to the District Three post by Gov. Bob Riley, but a round of litigation involving the appointment forced him to leave the post. Shortly after, Langham was named by Riley to the District One Judgeship, serving out the term of retired Judge David Breland.
Langham will face Democrat Tim Kyle in November. Kyle had no primary opposition.
In the race for District Judge Place One, Brent Craig handily defeated opponent Buddie “Buzz” Brown for the Republican nomination. Craig received 7,355 votes, or 68 percent, to Brown’s 3,452, or 32 percent.
Craig, a former judge and attorney, faces attorney Larry Madison in November. Madison ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
In other local races: