This Tuesday is Alabama's primary election day. Winning the Republican nomination for a statewide office in Alabama is tantamount to an election, so your vote next week will likely matter as much as this Tuesday's November general election.

We're participating in the Super Tuesday Republican presidential primary caravan, so the primaries are early this year.

There are no close or interesting races across Alabama this year.

The four Supreme Court seats up for election are held by popular incumbent members who are not resisting.

The only contested election for the Supreme Court is the chief justice election. Current Supreme Court Associate Justice Sarah Stewart is expected to win this election. She is immediately more qualified than her adversary. Judge Stewart has served on the Supreme Court for 10 years and previously served as a circuit court judge in Mobile for 16 years.

There is a vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals, and Assistant Attorney General Thomas Govan and Assistant Attorney General Rich Anderson are running for the seat. Mr. Govan has the support of most business and conservative groups and has been passionate about the state.

Republican Court of Civil Appeals Judge Chad Hanson is up for re-election next week. he is doing a good job.

Popular conservative PSC Chairman Twinkle Kavanaugh is up for re-election and is expected to win in a landslide. She is the glue that keeps the Public Service Commission running smoothly.

One of the best races on the ballot next week is the newly elected 2nd Congressional District. This new seat was determined by a federal court to create a second majority minority district. When federal courts drew new boundaries, they sought to ensure that the new districts favored Democrats.

Pudding's evidence is an index attached to a plan presented by a court-selected special master that shows Democrats would have won this seat had they been on the ballot in 16 of the past 17 general elections. It became clear that something was going to happen.

The new 2nd District includes all of Montgomery and stretches through the Black Belt, home to most of Mobile's black voters. Twelve Democratic candidates are vying for this seat. Therefore, a runoff election for the Democratic Party's nomination is likely to be held on April 16th. It is unclear who will participate in the runoff election. Few, if any, of the candidates live in the district.

Seven Republicans are vying for the Republican nomination in the new district. A runoff election is likely to be held in this race as well.

The three favorites to win one of the two runoff positions are former Montgomery state Sen. Dick Brubaker, current Escambia County state Sen. Greg Albritton, and Montgomery attorney and Monroe County native Caroleen. Mr. Dobson.

Thanks to the 2nd District redistricting, a federal court made the revised 1st Congressional District one of the most conservative and Republican districts in the nation. They combined the Wiregrass with upscale and growing suburban enclaves in Baldwin and Mobile counties. Two incumbent Republican senators, Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) and Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), are running against each other in the same district.

Two-thirds of voters in the new 1st District reside in the current Baldwin County precinct, so Carl should be favored. Baldwin County is not one of the most populous counties in the state. The population is 246,000, making up one-third of the population of the new District 1. Half of the votes cast in next Tuesday's Republican primary will be cast by Baldwin County residents. Therefore, Baldwin County will be a battleground in this legislative election.

Almost all voters in Baldwin County are Republicans and are very conservative. Moore, a Wiregrass native, struggled to convince Baldwin County voters that he was more conservative than his local, Jerry Carle. But despite Kahl's perceived advantage over Moore, current opinion polls reveal a close race. There are no Democratic candidates in this super-Republican district, so the winner of next Tuesday's Kahl vs. Moore race will take it all.

If Moore wins, he will owe his soul to the right-wing, anti-Trump “Daddy Warbucks” Growth Club PAC. The PAC is expected to play a big role for Moore, just as it did four years ago when he elected him to the old 2nd District.

Two of the most popular and powerful Republicans, Robert Aderholt and Gary Palmer, are up for re-election on Tuesday. They both have ostensible opposites. Losing either of these senators would be devastating for Alabama.

If you want your vote to count in the 2024 presidential election year, you'll need to go to the polls next Tuesday.

see you next week.

Steve Flowers' weekly column appears in more than 60 Alabama newspapers. He has served in the state Legislature for his 16 years and can be contacted at: [email protected].