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By J.R. TIDWELL / Editor

Last month Gov. Kay Ivey called for a special election to fill the vacant seat for District 42 of the Alabama House of Representatives.

District 42 covers Chilton County and part of Autauga County.

The seat was vacated when Jimmy Martin passed away on May 31 after battling cancer. Martin had served in the legislature from 1998-2010 and from 2014-2019.

Four people have declared their candidacy in the Republican primary: Chilton County commissioners Allen Caton and Jimmy Hardee, Jemison city administrator Shannon Welch and Autauga County commissioner Van Smith.

Kenneth Allison Sr. of Jemison is the only Democrat running for the office, meaning their will be no primary for that party.

The Republican primary has been set for Aug. 20, and now that the June 18 filing deadline has come and gone, the field of candidates is set for both the Democratic and Republican parties.

If no candidate in the Republican primary receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a special primary runoff election will be held on Nov. 5, 2019. If no primary runoff election is necessary, the general election will be held on Nov. 5, 2019, instead of Jan. 21, 2020.

Editor’s note* — An election guide containing more information on each candidate will run in a future edition of The Clanton Advertiser.

Joyanna Love contributed to this article.