Travis Hendrix wins runoff election to represent Jefferson County in Alabama State House

Travis Hendrix, a 40-year old Birmingham police officer, is heading to the Alabama State House after winning a runoff election in Jefferson County on Tuesday.

Hendrix, a Democrat, prevailed against Democrat Sylvia Swayne to represent House District 55, which includes much of western Jefferson County and runs from Birmingham’s Southside into West End, Ensley and Fairfield.

“I want the people to know that I’m truly, truly grateful and all I’m trying to do and what I will do is do my best to improve the quality of life for the people of District 55,” Hendrix told AL.com shortly after declaring victory.

Hendrix replaces former Rep. Fred Plump, who resigned in May after less than a year in office because of his involvement and guilty plea in a kickback scheme involving public money.

Swayne, the first openly transgender candidate to run for state office in Alabama, said shortly after 8:20 p.m. that she had called Hendrix to concede the race. Speaking to a crowd of more than 100 supporters at her campaign watch party in Birmingham, she thanked him for “keeping me on my toes” in the campaign.

“I might be the first transgender woman to run in the state of Alabama, but I’ll be damned if I’m the last,” she said. “People want to see change. People want to see something different.”

With 30 of the district’s 31 precincts reporting, Hendrix received 2,367 votes, or 65 percent, while Swayne received 1,268 votes, or 35 percent, according to the unofficial results.

The race for the seat in the heavily Democratic district generated widespread attention and money.

A crowd of supporters gathered for the Hendrix campaign watch party at Ensley Soho, an event center in Ensley. Hendrix is from the west Birmingham neighborhood, where he grew up in the former Tuxedo Terrace public housing community.

Hendrix said the victory was not his alone as he thanked the room filled with applauding supporters. “We won,” he told the crowd. “I’m still going to need you all because I cannot do this by myself.”

Several state lawmakers attended the watch party to support Hendrix on election night, including Rep. Patrick Sellers D-Birmingham, Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove and Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, and Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville. Daniels is minority leader in the State House of Representatives. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin also attended and embraced Hendrix in celebration.

The special election was the second time Hendrick sought the seat after placing fourth in the 2022 general election.

Just 3,955 ballots were cast Tuesday. With about 25,000 registered voters in the district, turnout was less than 10 percent.

No Republican ran for the seat, which means Hendrix’s win effectively ends the contest.

Hendrix, Swayne and five other Democrats quickly put together their campaigns ahead of the special election in late September after Plump resigned. In the special election last month, Hendrix received the most votes, followed by Swayne in second. The race went to Tuesday’s runoff because no one received a majority of the votes in the initial round of voting.

The race generated heated discussion and arguments from voters and supporters regarding race and gender.

Still, both Hendrix and Swayne said they preferred to focus on the issues germane to the district that inspired them to run to represent it.

“I’m for all people. It doesn’t matter what you look like, what status you are, or what gender you are,” Hendrix told AL.com days before election night, renouncing negative campaigning based on gender.

Hendrix’s campaign raised $81,837.29 in contributions, per state campaign finance records. His notable contributors include several political action committees associated with state industry associations, including $10,000 from the Alabama Realtors as well as thousands more, combined, from Alabama Builders, Alabama Works, Alabama Trucking Association and the Alabama Forestry Association.

On the other side, Swayne’s campaign raised more than double the amount Hendrix received, bringing in $209,352 in contributions. Some of her largest donations came from outside the state – including $124,325 since October from Leaders We Deserve, a Washington D.C.-based organization, co-founded by anti-gun violence advocate David Hogg, that works to elect young progressives.

Hogg attended Swayne’s watch party after knocking on doors and calling voters the past few days with her campaign.

“The beauty of investing in young people is that this is just the beginning,” Hogg said in an interview with AL.com at the event. “I would’ve much rather had Sylvia run and not win than not run at all.”

When asked if she’ll run for office again, Swayne told AL.com at the watch party, “never say never.”

Hendrix campaigned on a platform that including enhancing public safety, expanding access to broadband and lowering grocery taxes. He also touted his ability to work in bipartisan cooperation to bring effective legislation in the overwhelmingly Republican legislature.

“The first thing I want to do is get there and learn the job and see what needs to be done and once I learn the job to come back to the district and let the district know what’s going on in Montgomery and how we’re going to move forward,” Hendrix said Tuesday night.