By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

Matt Fridy won the Republican party nomination in the primary election for Shelby County’s new State House District 73, receiving about 70 percent of the votes.

“I’m elated, I’m feeling great,” Fridy said at his campaign party at Buck’s Pizza in Alabaster. “After a barrage of negative attacks from my opponent, we overcame it with positivity and responded with the facts, with the truth and with a positive approach.”

The House District 73 race is Fridy’s first run for elected office. A Montevallo resident and graduate of University of Montevallo and Samford University, Fridy is a conservative Republican who stands for “limited government, low taxes, and encouraging job growth,” according to his campaign.

Protecting the Second Amendment right to bear arms, securing proper road and transportation funding and prioritizing education were also key elements of Fridy’s campaign platform.

“I’m going to do just what we told voters and what we’ve told the voters for the past year,” Fridy said of his plans to focus immediately on transportation, education and “improving the quality of life in District 73.”

Fridy was opposed by Helena Resident, Jody Trautwein, who received around 27 percent of votes.

“I think the cause of fighting for, protecting and defending our faith, our families, our finances, our freedom and our future can and must go forth stronger than ever, regardless of the results of the polls tonight,” Trautwein said of the election results in a phone interview.

If elected in November, Fridy will occupy the new House District 73 seat, which was created when state leaders redrew House of Representative district lines due to significant recent population growth in Shelby County. Between 2000 and 2010, the county’s population increased by more than 35 percent, and the 2012 census listed Shelby County population at 200,941. House District 73 is contained entirely within Shelby County.

“I’m excited particularly about the outcome of tonight because it shows politics doesn’t have to be negative to be successful,” Fridy said. “Voters want to hear the candidates talk about the issues, and that’s what we did in this campaign.”