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By PAUL DEMARCO / Guest Columnist 

Note: This is an opinion column.

Now that we have the results from the recent election in our state, we can look deeper into the preferences voters had in Alabama.

For starters, turnout by voters was 62.8 percent of registered voters. Of those who turned in their ballots other than on Election Day, 13 percent were by absentee ballot, which was a record amount for the state. However, while there were a lot of voters this year, there were actually more voters in 1992 in the presidential contest between George Bush and Bill Clinton, when 76 percent of Alabama voters showed up at the polls.

As for those that voted in November 2020, 67 percent of the votes in Alabama were for a straight party ticket. Republican candidates benefited the most from the one party vote with 62 percent for the GOP.

The county in the state with the highest percentage of straight ticket Republican voters was Marion, with 65.8 percent of those votes.

Winston County had the highest vote percentage for President Trump at 90 percent. Greene and Macon Counties had the highest percentage for Joe Biden at 80 percent.

So while there are pockets of blue in the state, the Alabama Republican Party holds the power in the state. With the recent election of Tommy Tuberville to the United States Senate, every statewide officeholder in the state is Republican. In addition, 68 percent of elected officials who run in partisan primaries are Republican in the state.

While neighboring Georgia has become a purple state, Alabama will clearly continue to be ruby red for the foreseeable future.

Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives.