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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

Residents in parts of Alabaster and Montevallo went to the polls on Tuesday, Aug. 4, to vote in the special House District 49 Republican Primary Special Election, and after a day of voting, there will be a runoff between two candidates.

Russell Bedsole and Mimi Penhale received 1,748 of the 2,640 votes cast during the special election with Bedsole grabbing 919 (34.82 percent) of the votes and Penhal garnering 829 (31.41 percent) of the vote.

Those two were the highest two vote getters with six candidates to choose from.

Chuck Martin was the next closest bringing in 640 (24.25 percent) of the votes, while Donna Strong, Jackson McNeely and James Dean finished with 6.71 percent of the votes or less.

The seat, which oversees portions of Shelby, Chilton and Bibb counties, became vacant when Rep. April Weaver announced her resignation shortly before the end of the legislative session. Weaver was appointed to serve in the Trump administration as a regional director of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The special primary runoff election will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to determine whether Bedsole or Penhale will move on to the Nov. 17 special general election.

No Democratic primary was held due to Montevallo’s Cheryl Patton being the only candidate to qualify. Either Bedsole or Penhale will square off with Patton during the general election.

During the Republican Primary, Besole received 709 of the 1,229 votes, while Penhale received 267. In Chilton County, Penhale ended up gathering 135 of the 255 votes, while Bedsole received 52 votes. Martin received the most votes in Bibb County with 524, while Penhale ended up with 427 and Bedsole 158.