Voters in the Birmingham Metro area will choose between Democratic candidates Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, Alicia Escott Lumpkin and Nina Taylor on May 19. (photos courtesy of candidates, graphic by Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector)
A Birmingham Democratic House primary features three candidates and the echoes of the city’s 2025 mayoral election.
Alabama House District 60, which encompasses part of the Birmingham-metro area, including Fultondale, Smithfield and Ensley is currently represented by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, who has been in the Alabama Legislature since 2010. Givan faces Alicia Escott Lumpkin, a former city employee now focused full-time on campaigning, and Nina Taylor, a captain for Birmingham Fire and Rescue, in the Democratic primary. No Republicans qualified for the race.
The race has been rife with claims of it being a fight between the city’s mayor Randall Woodfin and Givan. Givan ran against Woodfin in last year’s Birmingham mayoral race, when the relationship between the two became more tumultuous in public.
Lumpkin, a first-time candidate, received an endorsement from Woodfin in February.
Givan was critical of Woodfin in an interview on Tuesday.
“Woodfin has a problem with me because he can’t push me back,” she said. “He can’t roll out fake press conferences every week … He lies about everything. And I call it out, and I’m gonna continue to do it.”
Multiple messages seeking comment were left with Woodfin.
Lumpkin, the niece of former Sen. Sundra Escott-Russell, D-Birmingham, the first Black woman elected to the Alabama Senate, said Tuesday she’s aware of the murmurs surrounding her endorsement from the mayor but that she’s not acting in his interests.
“He didn’t ask me to (run), but when I told him this is what I wanted to do, he was definitely there to support me, and I’m appreciative of that support,” she said. “He’s been a very good source to kind of just bounce things off of, and so I’m not shying away from it. I appreciate his support, but do know I am my own woman.”
All three candidates said their priorities were improving opportunities for people in the district. Taylor, who unsuccessfully challenged Givan for the Democratic nomination for the district in 2022, said in an interview Tuesday that “I don’t care about this race being messy.” Among other priorities, Taylor said she would try to make health care and medication more affordable.
“My fight is not with Mayor Woodfin, it’s not with Miss Lumpkin, it’s not even with Miss Givan,” she said. “My fight is to make sure that the people have me at the table in Montgomery in order to build a foundation where we can have a better quality of life via legislation for the state of Alabama.”
Lumpkin said she wants to focus on improving economic opportunities and growth for the district.
“District 60 has some amazing projects that are taking place. And so my job, or my responsibility, is to make sure that we are planned,” she said. “Our spaces are ready to meet the moment right so making sure that we help prepare the spaces to be able to take advantage of those opportunities.
One of Givan’s biggest priorities is to continue funding education in the state.
“Making sure that we also put those things and line items in the budget that give our children hope, such as the arts and things of that nature. Not everybody’s going to play football and soccer and volleyball, not everybody’s going to be a doctor and a lawyer, but we want to make sure that we’re structuring public education where it needs to be structured,” she said.
Lumpkin and Taylor criticized Givan for sponsoring HB 289, a 2023 law which established procedures for individuals to request body or dashboard camera footage from law enforcement agencies and established procedures for its release, saying it negatively impacts the Black community.
The law gives agencies broad discretion to deny release of footage.
“You have to worry about a Democrat bringing a bill for public safety that says that you can request something, but they don’t have to give it to you,” Taylor said.
Givan, who has sought amendments to the law since its passage, pushed back against her opponent’s claims about the bill, saying it was an attempt to bring accountability to law enforcement.
“I wholeheartedly am proud of the body cam bill,” she said. “I worked with (Rep.) Allen Treadaway, (R-Morris), who heads and is the chair of our Public Safety Committee, and whereas for three years they told they wouldn’t even allow it to come up in committee, where we were able to finally to get somewhere after the Tyre Nichols killing in Memphis, Tennessee, we all said we’ve got to begin a conversation.”
According to campaign finances, as of April 30, Lumpkin has raised over $118,000 and spent over $139,000. Givan has raised $43,500 and spent over $22,000. Taylor has raised over $8,000 and spent just over $3,400.
Despite the differences in fundraising, Givan said she’s not worried about her stance in this year’s race, saying the district knows her.
“It’s like, I’ve run this race a town or two before,” she said. “Instead of them running a race on what they can do, on what they will do, they’re running a race trying to tell the people that I haven’t done anything.”
Lumpkin said voters should choose her because she’s willing to fight for District 60 to have more opportunities.
“We’ve got to be aggressive and go out and do it and fix it for ourselves. And so that’s what I’m proposing,” she said. “If you want something different over these next four years, vote for me because I’m going to make sure that we’re united and that we’re able to help bring some changes and some excitement and some energy back to District 60.”
Taylor said she deserves the vote because she’s been a public servant for over 20 years who knows what the budget process is like.
“A person can say, ‘I support education,” she said. “I’ve actually been a teacher. I am an AEA member. I applied for those same education dollars that are distributed in the state.”
No matter who voters choose on May 19, Givan said they shouldn’t be fooled by “poli-tricks.”
“This is a big girl game, and you need a player that is in the arena that when they take the field, they know that they’re either going there to play offense or defense, and if you’re lucky enough, you can be the quarterback and run with the ball. But even with that, you’ve got to have somebody to protect,” she said.
How to vote
District 60 voters can choose between Givan, Lumpkin or Taylor for the Democratic nomination on May 19. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 4. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polling locations can be found here. A runoff, if necessary, will be held on June 16.
Juandalynn Givan
Age: 55Residence: BirminghamOccupation: AttorneyEducation: B.A Political Science, Miles College; J.D. Miles School of LawParty: DemocratPrevious political experience: Member, Alabama House of Representatives, 2010-present; Candidate, Birmingham mayor, 2025Campaign fundraising:Raised over $43,500 and spent over $22,000 as of Thursday evening.
Nina Taylor
Age: 51Residence: ForestdaleOccupation: Fire Captain for Birmingham Fire and RescueEducation: B.S in Fire Science and Occupational Safety and Health, Columbia Southern UniversityParty: DemocraticPrevious political experience: Democratic candidate, Alabama House of Representatives, 2022Campaign fundraising: Raised over $8,000 and spent just over $3,400 as of Thursday.
Alicia Escott Lumpkin
Age: 43Residence: FultondaleOccupation: Former City of Birmingham employeeEducation: B.S. in Logistics and Transportation and Marketing, University of Tennessee; J.D., Birmingham School of LawParty: DemocratPrevious political experience: First-time candidateCampaign fundraising: Raised over $118,000 and spent over $139,000 as of Thursday evening.
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Author: Andrea Tinker