Democrat Allison Montgomery will become Alabama’s first transgender legislator after she won the state’s House District 25 on Tuesday night, unseating Republican Phillip Rigsby and persevering in a district President Donald Trump won three times. Montgomery’s victory came as Democrats had an overwhelming performance in the midterm elections. Democrats flipped control of the U.S.
Senate, as well as several gubernatorial seats, including in Texas and Ohio. State legislatures also saw Democratic victories on Tuesday night, including Montgomery’s win in House District 25 in northern Alabama. Montgomery won with 53.3 percent of the vote to Rigsby’s 46.7 percent, with 95 percent of the votes tallied.
She light-heartedly told Newsweek on Wednesday that she's already "tired of hearing the word 'historic'" when used in reference to her victory. "People across the political spectrum seem to be making a big deal out of the trans thing, but that's not why I ran for this seat," Montgomery told Newsweek. "I felt a calling to be a public servant, and now I'm gonna do my best for all of us, regardless of how you voted or what you think of my gender.
Because ultimately, I meant what I said in this campaign and I meant what I outlined in my platform—so I'd like to see other folks steer things back to substantive policy discussions, too, just like I've been doing." In a victory statement posted to her website on Tuesday night, Montgomery urged people to focus on how a “truly grassroots campaign … has a real shot in Alabama.” “We the people are tired of attempts to distract us with culture war issues, whether we’re in a minority group or not,” the statement said in part. And if you don't believe me–just watch.” House District 25 falls within Madison County, which Trump won by 9 percentage points in 2024. Trump won the county by 8 points in 2020 and 16 in 2016.
Montgomery ran her campaign on several issues important to Alabama voters, including artificial intelligence data centers, about which she said she “supports a long-term moratorium on large AI data center projects,” and healthcare costs, about which she said she supports Medicaid expansion. Other issues she addressed in her campaign included conflicts of interest, Huntsville’s hospital monopoly, human trafficking and religious liberty. Montgomery said she is a practicing Christian but believed in the separation of church and state.
In her victory statement, Montgomery said she planned to rest for a few weeks before voicing her plans as a new lawmaker. The breakdown: Senate: Republican Barry Moore won Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat against Democrat Everett Wess with 54.7 percent of the vote to Wess’ 45.3 percent.
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