Debbie Wood will be the next Alabama Representative for District 38 after beating challenger Brian McGee Tuesday night. With the victory, Wood becomes the first female representative from District 38.

“It’s been a great night,” Wood said. “We made history. I’m the first female representative elected from District 38.”

District 38 covers the southern portion of Chambers County, including the city of Valley and a portion of Lanett, as well as Cusseta and the majority of Huguely. The seat also serves portions of Lee County, including areas of Opelika and Smiths Station and became available after current Representative Isaac Whorton announced his candidacy for the position of Circuit Court Judge, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Place 12.

Wood has served as a Chambers County Commissioner since 2002 and owns Century 21 Wood Real Estate. She received the most votes in the Republican primary election in June, but did not carry the required 50 percent of the vote to gain the nomination and was forced into a runoff with Todd Rauch. In the July runoff, Wood won one of the closest races in recent memory across the state, besting Rauch by a vote total of 2,171 to 2,165, a difference of less than half of one percentage point.

“It’s been a long year,” Wood said. “When you decide that you’re going to run a race, you know you’re going to run one race, possibly another one. I had a primary, a runoff and a provisional ballot count in addition to the general election. It was a lot, but I think it gave me an opportunity to get out and get to know people in Lee County who didn’t know me.”

Throughout her campaign, she has run on a platform to bring more jobs to the district, as well as work to revitalize the area roads and bridges.

McGee, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the position, served in Vietnam and retired from the military as a captain. After his military career, McGee embarked on a career as an educator and taught for 37 years. During his campaign, he ran on a platform that advocated for the creation of jobs in the field of green technology, the increase in teacher salaries by 5 percent across the board, the creation of a state lottery for the purpose of benefitting education and for the expansion of Medicaid.

As of press time, McGee had not been reached for comment after multiple attempts.