Cam Ward defeated by state Supreme Court incumbent Greg Shaw

Published 11:23 pm Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Shelby County native Cam Ward came up short on March 3 in his quest to be elected as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in Place 1.

Greg Shaw

Ward was edged out by incumbent Greg Shaw who was first elected to the position in 2008. With 83 percent of the voting precincts counted, Shaw received 59 percent of the votes, or 287,991 votes, while Ward garnered 41 percent, or 197,617 votes, according to unofficial election results.

With no Democrats on the ballot, Shaw, 62, will retain his seat. The Alabama Supreme Court consists of nine seats and is the state’s highest court.

Ward’s bid for an Alabama Supreme Court seat marked his first time running for a statewide office. Ward, 48, was appointed by former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor as a Deputy Attorney General and also worked as district director for Congressman Spencer Bachus. Before serving in the Senate, Ward was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2002. He served two terms, and then in 2010 was elected to the Alabama State Senate to represent portions of Shelby, Chilton and Bibb counties. In 2018, he was re-elected to the Senate.

After his win, Shaw thanked the people of Alabama for their support.

“As with every race, I’m always deeply humbled by the confidence people put in me,” Shaw said. “I appreciate it very much. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve on the Alabama Supreme Court and for that I will forever be grateful.”

Shaw said he has worked a total of 35 year in the appellate courts. He worked 16 years as a senior staff attorney for the Supreme Court, and in 2000 was elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2008, he was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court and has served there since then.

As a part of the senior leadership on the Alabama Supreme Court, Shaw said he looks forward to being able to continue sharing his knowledge with the newer justices elected over the past few years.