Democratic voters on Tuesday cast their ballots to choose their next state representative in Birmingham's 52nd Congressional District. No candidate was able to surpass the 50% threshold needed to win the Democratic nomination without a runoff. The top two vote-getters, Kelvin Dutcher and Frank Woodson, advanced to a runoff on July 16.

Dutcher received 37.95% and Woodson 17.78% of the vote, with only 1,344 votes cast.

Dutcher is the Deputy Director of Community Development for the City of Birmingham. Previously, she worked as a policy analyst for the Jefferson County Health Department, Chief of Staff to the Birmingham City Councilman District 6, at the Southern Poverty Law Center and at Alabama State University. She also served as Alabama State Director for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

Dutcher is a deacon at Sardis Missionary Baptist Church. He served on the Birmingham Zoo Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of 100 Black Men of Birmingham. Dutcher was instrumental in winning a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods grant for his community. Dutcher is married with three children and a 90-pound dog named Biscuit.

Dutcher has received endorsements from both Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and the Business Council of Alabama (BCA).

RELATED: State Rep. Rogers indicted in Jefferson County bribery scheme

Frank Woodson is the executive director of Mission Birmingham Transformation Strategies, a faith-based community development organization. Previously, he held management positions at UPS for 20 years. In 2007, he became executive director of Mission Birmingham, a faith-based community development organization that seeks to physically demonstrate God's love for its communities.

Commissioner Woodson led Mission Birmingham in successful collaboration with ADECA and HUD to help stabilize the Birmingham community during the mortgage foreclosure crisis, and then led Mission Birmingham to play a key role in Birmingham and across the state during the 2011 tornado disaster in Alabama.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley appointed Woodson to the Alabama State Service Commission. Woodson has served as Executive Director of Mission Birmingham Transformation Strategies since 2011.

The final Democratic candidate will face Republican Carlos Crum in a special general election on October 1.

HD52 was vacant when longtime state Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham) resigned and admitted to involvement in a kickback scheme to defraud underprivileged children's baseball leagues. Rep. Fred Plump (D-Fairfield) and Rogers' longtime legislative assistant and lover also admitted to involvement in the conspiracy uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Rogers had represented HD52 since 1982.

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