More than Two Dozen Democrats Qualified for Elective Office in Marshall County

Guntersville, AL (BuzzReport) — Democrats in Marshall County have qualified 27 candidates for the 2026 midterm elections, meeting the January 23 deadline and marking a strong showing for the party at both the county and state levels.

The slate includes candidates ranging from statewide office to local boards and party leadership. Among the top of the ticket is Guntersville attorney Jeff McLaughlin, who is running for Alabama Attorney General. McLaughlin, a former state representative for House District 27, will be unopposed in the Democratic Primary.

At the county level, Democrats qualified candidates for several offices, including coroner, county commission, and county board of education. Those candidates include Rebecca Warren of Guntersville, a medical professional running for coroner; Terry Kirkland of Arab, a retired district manager for a wholesale grocery broker and merchandiser, running for County Commission District 1; and Jeffrey Watson of Arab, a retired educator currently pursuing his doctorate, running for County Board of Education District 1.

In addition, the party qualified 19 candidates for the Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee representing the county’s four commission districts, along with four district representatives to serve on the State Democratic Executive Committee.

“We have a lot to celebrate in Marshall County, as well as across the state, where we qualified hundreds of Democrats over the three-week period,” said Marshall County Democratic Chair Susan McKenney. “Now the real work begins.”

All Democratic candidates for county offices, as well as committee and state party positions, are unopposed in the May 19 Democratic Primary. As a result, the committee and district representative candidates have already been declared winners of their seats and will not appear on the primary ballot. County office candidates will advance directly to the General Election, where they will face Republican opponents on November 3.

To introduce the candidates to voters, the Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee and Democratic Club will host a meet-and-greet on February 3 at 6:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Guntersville Public Library auditorium, located at 1240 Obrig Avenue. The public is invited to attend and is asked to RSVP by February 2 via email at marshallcodems@gmail.com.