Sessions garnered 54 percent, with 1,926 votes, while Atkinson took 46 percent, with 1,641 votes. There also were a handful of write-in votes. Provisional ballots are not included in the totals. Sessions, a political novice, said it was a hard-fought victory.
"They did a great job of going door-to-door with the grass roots and made it a lot tougher race than we thought it would be," Sessions said. "We’re just thankful that we survived it, and we’re really humble."
Atkinson expressed satisfaction with the close outcome in the south Mobile County race.
"When you take a handful of tea party folks, about 30 or 40 folks, and you can put together a race against everything the state Republican Party has to throw at you, and you still come out only 8 percent behind, I’d say you did alright," Atkinson said Tuesday night.
Sessions faced no Democrat in Tuesday’s race, but Atkinson’s third-party run posed a much greater challenge than did Sessions’ previous opponents in the GOP primary.
Sessions cruised through the three-person March primary with 60 percent of the vote, while his opponents mustered only 25 and 15 percent, respectively.
"Of course, the low turnout really hurt" in Tuesday’s results, Sessions said.
The general election drew some 1,000 fewer voters than the GOP primary. That primary coincided with a school tax vote that may have driven more people to the polls.
House District 105 encompasses the south Mobile County coastline, including Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island, Irvington and Theodore.
Atkinson attempted to challenge Sessions from the right, questioning the Grand Bay farmer’s Republican credentials and criticizing him for his ties to Democrats.
Atkinson, a political newcomer from Theodore who owns Atkinson Nursery, picked up the passionate support of some conservative groups, such as the Common Sense Campaign, which identifies with the tea party movement.
But Sessions was backed by the Republican establishment, including the state party, U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner and Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard.
Hubbard congratulated Sessions in a written statement Tuesday night.
"House Republicans have unprecedented momentum enacting conservative, good-government reforms that will move Alabama forward. David will be a valued member of the Alabama Legislature and a great representative of his district," the statement said.
Sessions also had the backing of the man he’s replacing in the House, former Rep. Spencer Collier, R-Irvington. Collier left the seat in January to join the Cabinet of Gov. Robert Bentley, spawning the special election.
Sessions’ election comes in time for him to join the Legislature for the final weeks of this year’s regular session.
Though he was strongly criticized during the campaign for receiving large contributions from a political action committee associated with one of the state’s largest insurers, Sessions said that pushing for laws to increase availability and affordability of insurance will be a top priority for him in Montgomery.
"We want to earn the respect of everyone, and we’re going to go up there and work," Sessions said
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