Staff Writer

The race most were closely following was that of who will be the nation’s next president.

And, like in the rest of the country, the race was relativley close until throughout Tuesday night here in Pike County.

In the presidential race, there were seven candidates from whom to choose and Pike County voters chose George W. Bush over Al Gore.

Here, Bush received 6,048 votes (57.46 percent) and Gore garnered 4,350 votes (41.33 percent). Libertarian candidate Harry Browne received 27 votes, Pat Buchanan received 17, John Hagelin got 3, Nader received 73 and Howard Phillips received four votes. Three Pike County voters wrote in votes, but those names were unknown as of press time, and 64 voters did not cast ballots in that race.

Here in Pike County, incumbent Terry Everett, a Republican, received over 60 percent of the votes cast in the race for United States Representative, Congressional District 2.

Everett received 6,230 votes compared to the 3,783 votes long-time politician Charles Woods, a Democrat, received. Libertarian candidate Wallace D. McGahan received 198 votes and 85 write-in votes were added to the ballot while 293 Pike County voters did not vote in that race.

Pike County’s electorate made the race for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court a close one. Etowah County Circuit Judge Roy Moore, a Republican, received 5,199 votes (51.63 percent) and Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Judge Sharon Yates, a Democrat, received 4,832 local votes. While 520 voters did not cast ballots in that race, 38 chose to write in votes.

Republican Lyn Stuart received more local votes (5,168) than Democrat Ralph D. Cook (4,667) in the race for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 1. In the Supreme Court’s Place 2 race, Republican Champ Lyons received 5,393 votes and Libertarian Sydney Smith received 1,545 votes. Republican Tom Woodall received 5,288 votes in Pike County and Democrat John England received 4,520 votes in the Place 3 race.

Republican Bernard Harwood got 5,062 local votes with Democrat Joel Laird getting 4,546 in the Place 4 race.

Pike County voters voted for incumbent Roger Moore, a Democrat, in the Civil Appeals Judge, Place 1, race over Republican Craig Pittman. Moore received 4,925 and Pittman received 4,628.

In the Civil Appeals Judge Place 2 race, Pike County chose to support the hometown candidate. Pike County native John Crawley, a Republican, received 5,660 votes and Henry Steagall received 4,276 votes.

Republican Glenn Murdock and Democrat Gene Reese were vying for the Place 3 seat being vacated by a retiring Democrat. Murdock received 5,231 votes in Pike County and Reese got 4,474.

Pike County voters chose two Democrats and a Republican in the races for the Court of Criminal Appeals. Incumbent James Fry, a Democrat, received 4,741 votes and Republican Greg Shaw received 4,664 votes in the race for the Place 1 bench.

The Place 2 race had Democrat Aubrey Ford and Republican Kelli Wise seeking the seat being vacated by a Republican’s retirement. Wise won in Pike County with 5,330 votes to Ford’s 4,169.

Place 3 incumbent Sue Bell Cobb, a Democrat, received 5,311 Pike County votes and her challenger, Republican Alice Martin received 4,260 votes.

In the race for Public Service Commission president, incumbent Jim Sullivan, a Republican, overwhelmingly defeated Libertarian candidate Matthew A. Givens in Pike County. Sullivan garnered 5,905 votes here and Givens only received 1,244.

Ella B. Bell was the only person seeking the State Board of Education District 5 seat.

A number of write-in votes were cast in Pike County for these races, but those names were not available as of press time.