By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Late on Thursday, the Alabama Republican Party announced that Willie (W.A.) Casey had qualified for the special election in the House District 53 special election made necessary after the death of longtime incumbent Demetrius Newton (D) in September.
The Special General Election is expected to be held on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, and will be preceded by a Democratic Primary on December 3. If a Democratic Primary runoff is necessary the runoff will be on January 28 and the special general election will held on March 25th. Since Casey is the only Republican to qualify for the seat they will not be a Republican Primary and Casey will move on to the Special General election next year.
Willie (W.A.) Casey is a resident of Birmingham. Casey is a real estate broker, a deacon of the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, and a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served during the Korean War. W.A. Casey has been a small-business owner for many years and is heavily involved in his local community.
Casey faces a crowded Democratic field that includes: Anthony “Alann” Johnson, Arthur D. Shores Lee, Demetrius C. Newton Jr., and Frank Topping.
The Democratic primary election will be held on Dec. 3.
The 2014 legislative session begins on Jan. 14 so the district could be without representation for much of the session, particularly if a Democratic Party Primary Runoff is needed.
In 2014 House District 53 is moving to Madison county so the winner of the special election may face a Democratic incumbent next year as the district is absorbed by its neighbors.
A Casey victory would be an unexpected pickup for Republicans in the heavily Democratic majority minority seat.
