Supporters of Auburn Fire Division Battalion Chief Joe Lovvorn gathered at the bases of the iconic Toomer's Oaks Tuesday night to celebrate his win as he clenched the House District 79 Republican Primary race.
Joe, his two children and his wife Jennifer Lovvorn, along with more than 20 other supporters rolled the young oaks because "something good happened in Auburn tonight," he said.
After nearly three months of a hard-fought campaign — one powered by nearly $100,000 in donations — Joe took 51.29 percent of the vote as returns came in Tuesday night in downtown Opelika.
"Thank you for showing up today," he said after the results were announced. "Thank you to my opponents and their families for getting into this race. Auburn is a great place. ... But Auburn is not a place, it's a people. Today, the Auburn people showed up, and I appreciate them. I'm proud to be a part of the Auburn Family."
Joe said he was proud of the respectful campaign they ran — a campaign he said was based on policy issues.
"We've run on common-sense leadership," he said. "I think we're going to continue to apply common sense to our everyday lives and problems. There are some great people in Montgomery who are trying to make a difference."
Donning a white #GoForJoe T-shirt, Jennifer said she was proud of her husband and his victory.
"I'm very proud of my husband," she said. "I'm very proud of this campaign. It has been our desire to run this campaign with the utmost respect for the other candidates, with consideration of their families. It's very hard on us spouses."
The remaining three candidates took the other 49 percent, with Sandy Toomer at 25.9 percent, Brett Smith at 12.25 percent and Jay Conner in last with 10.54 percent of the vote.
Toomer said he respects the will of the majority, but he's not necessarily content or comfortable with Joe as Auburn's representative in Montgomery.
"He was the choice of the majority, and so I hope everybody is happy in two years from now because this seat will come back up," Toomer said. "This is a two-year try it before you buy it."
Toomer said he will closely watch Joe's activities in office over the next two years.
"If he does anything out of the best interest of Auburn, we're going to let people know," Toomer said. "Not because I'm planning on taking revenge and running against him. I want people to know because I'm a Robin Hood-type person. I just didn't get the bag of money this time."
Voter participation in the primary totaled in at nearly 12 percent, as 33,800 people were registered to vote in the district, and 4,008 people turned out to vote on Tuesday.
Smith, who came in third, said he was surprised at the results, but the results don't diminish his hope for the district or its future. He said he plans to support Joe as the party nominee.
"He seemed very happy, very nice, very humble," Smith said. "He said he really enjoyed running against me in the race. I think we really built a friendship."
Joe said he felt honored after Tuesday's victory because he didn't think a win was "mathematically possible" without a run-off. But he said he was excited to move forward and looks forward to the general election set for November.
Just as results in the Republican primary were finalized Tuesday, 21-year-old Auburn junior and Libertarian Party candidate Gage Fenwick announced he reached the 300-signature filing limit, a step necessary to appear on the Nov. 29 general election ballot.
Fenwick said he filed the more than 300 signatures Tuesday with the Alabama Secretary of State's office after collecting the signatures on petitions for the past two months. If Fenwick appears on the ballot in November, he will be Joe's only opponent.
No Democratic candidates have filed to run.
"The people of Auburn and Lee County deserve to have a choice on Election Day," Fenwick said. "A vote on a ballot with one choice is no vote at all."
Kris Martins, community reporter, and Lily Jackson, intrigue editor, contributed to this report.
Results:
- Joe Lovvorn: 2,097 votes at 51.29 percent
- Sandy Toomer: 1,059 votes at 25.9 percent
- Brett Smith: 501 votes at 12.25 percent
- Jay Conner: 431 votes at 10.54 percent
- Total votes: 4,089
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