Lowell Barron

Who is Lowell Barron?

Lowell Ray Barron is a former Democratic politician, businessman who was a member of the Alabama Senate, and represented the 8th District since 1982. He was elected President Pro Tem of the Alabama Senate from 1999 to 2007, and after having serving seven terms in the state Senate, was defeated by 628 votes in the 2010 general election by Republican Shadrack McGill. Alabama's 8th Senate district includes all of Jackson County and parts of DeKalb and Madison Counties.

He was born in Jackson County, received his Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from Auburn University and, in 1965, opened a pharmacy in Fyffe. He was elected Mayor of Fyffe in 1968, a position he held until 1982, when he was first elected to the Alabama Senate.

New elections for the state Senate and House were held in 1983 after district lines were redrawn, and the Alabama Democratic Party picked nominees rather than holding new primary elections. After his first year in the Senate, he was not selected as the Democratic nominee. Subsequently, he waged the state's first and only successful write-in campaign for the Alabama Legislature and won the Democratic nomination. He encouraged people to write in “Lowell Barron” with the “itty bitty pencils” which his campaign distributed, and his write-in campaign still stands as one of the most successful in American history. While the Senate district contained three counties, he received write-in votes in 26 of Alabama’s 67 counties.