Shaw Wins Alabama Supreme Court Re-Election
Republican Justice Greg Shaw secured another term on the state's highest court in the only contested Supreme Court race on the ballot.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Law
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Alabama Supreme Court Justice Greg Shaw, a Republican, won re-election on Tuesday with 54.7 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat AshLeigh Meyer Dunham, who received 45.3 percent. The count was 95 percent complete when reported.
Why it matters
The result leaves the nine-member Alabama Supreme Court entirely Republican. The race drew attention because Dunham made the court's 2024 in-vitro fertilization ruling a central campaign issue.
Shaw won 54.7 percent of the vote to Dunham's 45.3 percent with 95 percent of ballots counted. Justices on the nine-member court serve six-year terms, and the final tally for the remaining votes was not yet reported.
The players
Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw is a Republican justice on the Alabama Supreme Court who has served since 2009 and concurred in the court's 2024 in-vitro fertilization decision.
AshLeigh Meyer Dunham
AshLeigh Meyer Dunham is a Democratic family law attorney and former Jefferson County Juvenile Court referee who ran against Shaw and made the 2024 IVF ruling a central campaign issue.
The details
Shaw has served on the Alabama Supreme Court since 2009 and previously spent eight years on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Dunham, a family law attorney and former Jefferson County Juvenile Court referee, centered her campaign on the court's 2024 in-vitro fertilization ruling, which caused several clinics to suspend services until the Legislature passed protective legislation.
Timeline
• 2009: Shaw began serving on the Alabama Supreme Court.
• 2024: The court issued its in-vitro fertilization ruling, and clinics suspended services.
• Nov. 3, 2026: Shaw won re-election on Tuesday.
Political Context
Dunham's campaign directly challenged the 2024 IVF ruling that suspended clinic services until lawmakers passed protective legislation. Shaw's re-election keeps the justice who concurred in that decision on a court now entirely Republican.
Alabama voters have settled the composition of the state's highest civil and criminal court for another six-year term. Residents whose family planning depends on in-vitro fertilization services will see the court's composition continue to shape the legal framework governing those services.
The takeaway
Judicial retention races can shape long-term policy as much as legislative contests, particularly when a single ruling reaches patients and providers directly. Readers tracking the issue can follow how the Legislature's protective measures function in practice.
Further reading
Explore more Alabama law coverage for context on the state's courts and legal policy.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Al.
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