Franklin D-1 commission race heads to runoff

RUSSELLVILLE — Residents of District 1 will have to wait a little longer to learn who their representative on the Franklin County Commission will be as two candidates are headed for a runoff election.

Among the five candidates vying for the position, none received the necessary threshold of 51% of the vote during Tuesday’s primary election, setting up a runoff on June 16 for the top two candidates — Curtis Baker and Grayson Murray.

With 25 of 26 precincts reporting, Baker claimed 41% of the vote while the incumbent Murray received 26%. Fellow challengers Jeff Fleming brought in 16%, along with Joey Norton at 10% and Judson Gaston at 6%,

Since there is no Democratic candidate running for the position, the winner of the runoff election will automatically win the seat.

The lone remaining precinct are provisional ballots which will be counted next week, according to Franklin County Probate Judge Barry Moore.

Murray, 21, was appointed to the position by Gov. Kay Ivey in June 2025 after his father, Michael Murray, died in May after holding the commission seat for less than seven months.

When Michael Murray was elected in 2024, he defeated Baker in the Republican primaries.

Filling in his father’s shoes for the past year, Murray, who is also currently a college student at the University of North Alabama, said he has enjoyed the experience and plans to continue hitting the campaign trail for the next month to make his final pitch to voters.

“Most of all, this has been incredibly humbling,” Murray said. “Just getting out and meeting people and seeing how supportive they have been and getting to know the people my father had a relationship with has been incredible as well.”

Murray

Murray said he is pleased with the time he’s had on the commission and believes his year in the position sets him apart from his competitors.

“I’ve gained a lot of experience, and I’ve been doing this job for close to a year,” Murray said. “I have great relationships with everyone, and I think that goes a long way to being successful for the county.”

As for Baker, he said he was thrilled with the amount of turnout he received — especially in Churntown, Union and other locations near Spruce Pine Mountain, which are all near his hometown.

“We’re going to hit the road hard and go after the areas where we felt like we were weak tonight,” Baker said. “I’m proud of my home area because they really came out and supported me and I’m very thankful for that. It’s going to be a fun month.”

Baker said, if elected, he hopes to reinforce the commission’s school resource officers inside Franklin County Schools, while also beefing up the county’s infrastructure.

“If I’m commissioner, every chance we have to go get some money, we’re going to do it,” Baker said. “I want to go after the critical areas our county needs and I’m dedicated to making sure it happens.”