Statewide elections in 2022 will include all state constitutional officers, all members of the State House of Representatives and the Senate, and seats on the Alabama Supreme Court.
Several insiders tell APR that Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Mary Becker Windom will run to fill the open seat currently held by Associate Justice Michael F. Bolin.
“Judge Windom has a stellar record, is a rock-ribbed Republican and a prodigious fundraiser,” said one insider. “She will be difficult to beat should she declare her candidacy for the State Supreme Court.”
Bolin, born Oct. 1, 1948, will not seek re-election due to age restrictions under an amendment to the Alabama 1901 Constitution, which prohibits any member of the court from seeking election once they have attained the age of 70 years.
Windom was first elected to the appellate court in 2008 and has served as presiding judge since 2012. Prior to her first election, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney and a deputy attorney general for the state of Alabama.
She recently earned re-election to the court in the Nov. 3, 2020, general election. During that campaign, she reiterated her commitment to the court, saying, “When I was elected to serve on the Court of Criminal Appeals, I promised that I would bring justice to victims of crime, protect the constitution and apply the law as it is written, not create new laws or legislate from the bench. I am proud that I have kept those promises, and I will continue to do so.”
Insiders who spoke with APR on conditions of anonymity to not influence party politics said that Windom’s long history on the court, her conservative credentials and fundraising prowess would make her a formidable candidate.
Another said that he is confident that Windom will run and that she would be a welcome addition to the state’s high court.
“Mary Windom is a winner; she’s honest and judicially consistent,” said the second insider. “She is the very type of individual the people of Alabama can trust on the state’s highest court. I believe she will run, and she should.”
APR was unable to reach Windom for comment.
