Kirk Hatcher (born 1964/1965)[1] is an American politician from the state of Alabama. He currently represents Alabama's 26th District in the Alabama State Senate. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Education

Hatcher graduated from Morehouse College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature. He later enrolled in Emory University, where he earned a Masters of Divinity degree in Theology in 1997.[2]

Career

After graduating from Emory, Hatcher moved to Rye, New York, where he worked as an English teacher at Rye County Day School.[3] After resigning his position in 2015, he moved back to his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama, where he worked in community organization. In 2018, he ran for a position in the Alabama House of Representatives in District 78, which covers downtown Montgomery.[4] He came in 2nd place in the initial Democratic primary election held on June 5, 2018, winning 37.6% of the vote and causing a runoff.[5] In the runoff held 2 months later, Hatcher defeated incumbent Representative Alvin Holmes by 17.4%.[6] Hatcher decisively defeated his independent opponent, Tijuanna Adetunji, in the November general election with 83.4% to her 16.3%.[7] Hatcher's success was backed by several lobbying groups, including the Alabama Education Association, Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Alabama Bankers Association, Alabama Forestry Association, and Alabama Rural Electricity Association.[8] After the resignation of Senator David Burkette, Hatcher ran for the empty seat in the Alabama Senate's District 26.[9] He won the initial open primary with 47.9% of votes, although because he did not win a majority of the vote, there had to be a runoff election. In the runoff, Hatcher triumphed over his opponent, John Knight, winning with 74.2% of the vote.[10] In the general election, Hatcher defeated Republican William Green with over 78% of votes cast.[11]

In 2024, Hatcher strongly considered running for United States Representative in the 2nd congressional district (which was redrawn after the Supreme Court case Allen v. Milligan), although he eventually decided not to.[12][13]

Committee Positions

Hatcher is a member of the Banking and Insurance,[14] Education Policy,[15] Tourism,[16] and Transportation and Energy Committees.[17]

Elections

Alabama House of Representatives District 78

2018 Democratic Primary

2018 Democratic Primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alvin Holmes 2,116 45.9%
Democratic Kirk Hatcher 1,736 37.6%
Democratic Terrance Dawson 759 16.5%
Total votes 4,611 100.0%

2018 Democratic Runoff

2018 Democratic Runoff
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kirk Hatcher 1,704 58.7%
Democratic Alvin Holmes 1,200 41.3%
Total votes 2,904 100.0%

2018 General Election

2018 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kirk Hatcher 9,506 83.4%
Independent Tijuanna Adetunji 1,860 16.3%
Write-in 30 0.3%
Total votes 11,396 100.0%

Alabama State Senate District 26

2020 Democratic Primary

2018 Democratic Primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kirk Hatcher 2,513 47.9%
Democratic John Knight 1,091 20.8%
Democratic Linda Douglas Burkette 541 10.3%
Democratic TaShina Morris 496 9.5%
Democratic Janet May 400 7.6%
Democratic Deborah Anthony 202 3.9%
Total votes 5,243 100.0%

2020 Democratic Runoff

2020 Democratic Runoff
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kirk Hatcher 3,961 74.2%
Democratic John Knight 1,374 25,8%
Total votes 5,335 100.0%

2020 General Election

2020 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kirk Hatcher 4,565 78.3%
Republican William Green 1,254 21.5%
Write-in 8 0.1%
Total votes 5,827 100.0%

References

  1. ^ "Senate District 26 profile: Kirk Hatcher emphasizes education, economic development".
  2. ^ "Kirk Hatcher Linkedin".
  3. ^ "About 1". Kirk Hatcher for Senate. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  4. ^ "Kirk Hatcher". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  5. ^ "2018 Alabama State House District 78 Election Results". Bama Politics. 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  6. ^ "Alabama House of Representatives District 78". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  7. ^ "Tijuanna Adetunji". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  8. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System - Kirk Hatcher". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  9. ^ "Democratic Rep. Kirk Hatcher wins Montgomery seat in Alabama Senate". al. 2021-03-03. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  10. ^ Staff, WSFA 12 News (2 March 2021). "Hatcher wins Democratic primary runoff in Senate District 26 race". www.wsfa.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Lyman, Brian. "Kirk Hatcher wins special election for Senate District 26". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  12. ^ Moon, Josh (2023-10-30). "Reed out, Hatcher in for 2nd Congressional District race". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  13. ^ Lyman, Brian (2023-11-10). "Sen. Kirk Hatcher won't run for 2nd Congressional District • Alabama Reflector". Alabama Reflector. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  14. ^ "Banking and Insurance Committee".
  15. ^ "Senate Education Policy Committee".
  16. ^ "Senate Tourism Committee".
  17. ^ "Senate Transportation and Energy Committee".
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