Madison Democrats aim to make a difference in Montgomery

The latest: Democratic candidates heading to Montgomery are prioritizing affordability, health care and education access, and they see opportunities to work with Republicans at the capital.

Driving the news: Democrat Jared Sluss, who unseated incumbent Sam Givhan in Senate District 7, told Axios he's optimistic that Republican legislators will be malleable after Tuesday's results, adding that several have already reached out to him.

• He believes that with more contested races, politicians will be more likely to view their roles as public servants and deliver results.

• "It's incredible we won, but it was also a razor-thin margin," Sluss said. "I need to make sure I do my part to reach across the aisle."

What they're saying: James Bosley, chair of the Madison County Democratic Party, told Axios he believes the county's growing Democratic representation "will make a difference in the legislative process," noting that House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, of District 53, is also local.

• "Added members to the Legislature both on the House and the Senate side is going to make a difference," he said. "One voice is good, but many voices is even better."

Zoom in: Allison Montgomery will be one of those voices after winning House District 25, which covers parts of Limestone and Madison counties.

• "I leaned heavily into school funding, meaningful health care reform (like holding the Huntsville Hospital monopoly accountable), and anti-AI data center policies," she told Axios in an email.
• "I want to keep talking to folks from here to the legislative session so that I actually represent the needs of the people I'm supposed to serve," Montgomery said.
• Montgomery, who said she wasn't surprised by the result, said her team built a "wide-reaching" platform around "strengthening rights for working people against state surveillance and corruption."

Case in point: On early priorities for the next legislative session, Sluss pointed first to the grocery tax, which Republicans promised to repeal a few weeks before Election Day and which he said Democrats have been proposing to eliminate it for a long time.

• Also on his list: expanding Medicaid, a lottery to fund pre-K for Alabama students, public transportation investment and providing breakfast for students at school.

Zoom out: Bosley said he wasn't surprised by Tuesday's results either, citing strong candidates, in-migration of highly educated professionals swelling the ranks and quality-of-life issues driving folks to get involved.

• They see the trend of growing Democratic participation continuing.