text: The last remaining statewide Democrat, who served on the Alabama Public Service Commission, was defeated in 2012.Only three Republican lieutenant governors have been elected since the end of Reconstruction, when Republicans generally represented Reconstruction government, including the newly emancipated freedmen who had gained the franchise.The three GOP lieutenant governors are Steve Windom (1999–2003), Kay Ivey (2011–2017), and Will Ainsworth (2019–present).Local elections Many local offices (county commissioners, boards of education, tax assessors, mayors, etc.) in the state are still held by Democrats.Many metropolitan and suburban counties have voters who are majority Democrats, resulting in local elections being decided in the Democratic primary.Similarly most rural counties are majority-Republican and elections are effectively decided in the Republican Primary.However, since local governments in Alabama are weaker than in other parts of the country, Republicans have the upper hand in government.Alabama's 67 county sheriffs are elected in partisan, at-large races, and Republicans retain the vast majority of those posts.The current split is 18 Democrats, and 49 Republicans as of 2023.However, most of the Democratic sheriffs preside over urban and more populated counties.The majority of Republican sheriffs have been elected in the more rural counties with lower population.The state of Alabama has and 11 African-American sheriffs.Federal elections The state's two U.S.senators are Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, both of whom are Republican.In the U.S.House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, six of whom are Republicans: (Jerry Carl, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Dale Strong, Barry Moore, and Gary Palmer) and one Democrat: Terri Sewell, who represents the Black Belt as well as most of the predominantly black portions of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery.