Who is running for State Representative, District 47 (Alabama House District 47, Alabama) in 2026?
Here are the candidates for State Representative, District 47 on the November 3, 2026 ballot. This race is on the ballot for voters in Alabama House District 47.
Positions come only from each candidate's own votes, official actions, statements and questionnaire answers, never from party labels. Every item links to its source.
Side by side
Each candidate's position on the issues this office handles, from their own record. Details and sources are in each profile below.
| Issue | Jim ToomeyDemocrat | Mike ShawRepublican |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | Keep the Affordable Care Act and fix what is brokenSaid · low | No public position |
| School choice | No public position | Yes, universal school choice for every familyVoted · medium |
| Election rules | Photo ID, but with free IDs and more early votingSaid · low | Strict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsVoted · medium |
| Qualified immunity | No public position | Yes, and strengthen it by writing it into law and covering officers' legal costsVoted · medium |
| Childcare and pre-K | Offer free pre-K to every 4-year-old, and expand childcare aidSaid · low | No public position |
| DEI programs | No public position | Ban DEI offices and required training at public institutionsVoted · medium |
| Religion in schools | No public position | Support laws requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional prayer periodsVoted · medium |
Jim Toomey
DemocratPrivate citizen (retired insurance company chief information officer)
Jim Toomey of Vestavia Hills is a retired technology executive who spent four decades as a chief information officer at Loyal American Life Insurance in Mobile and Protective Life Insurance in Birmingham2. He studied information technology at Southwest State Technical Institute and the University of South Alabama2. He ran for this seat in 2018, losing to David Wheeler with 45.7 percent, and is the Democratic nominee against incumbent Mike Shaw in 20261.
Where they stand 4 issues · tap any issue for the evidence
HealthcareKeep the Affordable Care Act and fix what is brokenlow
Said · low confidence- Says Alabama's refusal to expand Medicaid to about 235,000 uninsured low-income residents is hurting the state's economy and rural hospitals, and supports expansion. (2026) source
Election rulesPhoto ID, but with free IDs and more early votinglow
Said · low confidence- Says Alabama should make it easier to vote, not harder, with more registration locations, convenient hours and expanded ID options. (2026) source
Childcare and pre-KOffer free pre-K to every 4-year-old, and expand childcare aidlow
Said · low confidence- Supports investing in high-quality pre-K, saying every dollar invested returns seven dollars in savings, and describes himself as a strong supporter of public education from pre-K through two years of post-secondary study. (2026) source
RedistrictingNo single answer fitslow
Said · low confidence- Calls for an end to gerrymandering of voting districts through manipulation of boundaries. (2026) source
No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Business regulation, Abortion, Guns, Immigration, Energy and climate, School choice, Curriculum and books, Housing and growth, Policing and crime, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Gender care for minors, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Death penalty, Qualified immunity, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Transgender athletes, DEI programs, Religion in schools, China policy.
Mike Shaw
Republican · IncumbentAlabama State Representative, District 47
Mike Shaw has represented District 47 (Hoover and Vestavia Hills) in the Alabama House since November 202212. He served on the Hoover City Council from 2016 to 2022 and spent about 20 years in information technology, including as chief technology officer of a credit union; he graduated from Auburn University in 199531. He faces Democrat Jim Toomey in the November 3, 2026 general election1.
Where they stand 7 issues · tap any issue for the evidence
School choiceYes, universal school choice for every familymedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted for final House passage of HB129, the CHOOSE Act, which created state-funded education savings accounts that families can use for private school tuition and other education costs (passed 69 to 34). (2024-02-27) source
- Said he wants to preserve what works in public schools while remaining open to funding alternatives such as private or public charter schools. (2023-02-10) source
DEI programsBan DEI offices and required training at public institutionsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted for House passage of SB129, which bars public colleges and state agencies from maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion offices or programs and restricts teaching of listed divisive concepts (passed 75 to 28). (2024-03-07) source
Election rulesStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted for House passage of SB1, which made it a crime to distribute pre-filled absentee ballot applications or to be paid for helping voters with them (passed 75 to 28). (2024-03-07) source
- Voted for SB9 on third reading (roll call 495), which requires every electronic vote-counting system used in Alabama elections to use a paper ballot marked and checked by the voter (passed 78 to 27). (2023-05-02) source
- Voted for HB209 on third reading (roll call 563), which would have barred distributing, collecting or delivering another person's absentee ballot or application in certain circumstances and paying for that help (passed 76 to 28). (2023-05-04) source
- Voted for HB479 on third reading (roll call 933), which would remove the Electronic Registration Information Center as a source for finding voters whose addresses changed (passed 74 to 28). (2025-04-22) source
Qualified immunityYes, and strengthen it by writing it into law and covering officers' legal costsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted for House passage of HB202, which expanded law enforcement officers' immunity from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution over use of force and created a pretrial immunity hearing (passed 75 to 26), and voted to concur in the final version on May 14, 2025 (73 to 28). (2025-03-06) source
Religion in schoolsSupport laws requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional prayer periodsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted for House passage of HB178, which would have required public K-12 schools to display the Ten Commandments in a common area (passed the House 81 to 11; it died in the Senate). (2025-04-17) source
- Voted for House passage of SB99, which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in common areas and certain classrooms when donated funds are available (passed 81 to 10 and was signed into law). (2026-04-09) source
ImmigrationNo single answer fitslow
Voted · low confidence- Voted for House passage of SB53, which created state crimes of human smuggling and concealing a person living in the country illegally and required jails to check detainees' immigration status (passed 80 to 18). (2025-05-06) source
Business regulationNo single answer fitslow
Voted · low confidence- Voted against House passage of SB71, which bars state agencies from adopting environmental rules stricter than federal requirements without a stated justification (passed 68 to 34). (2026-02-17) source
- His campaign site says he sponsored the Alabama Personal Data Protection Act for consumer privacy and supports stablecoin legislation with clear oversight and consumer safeguards. (2026) source
No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Healthcare, Abortion, Guns, Energy and climate, Curriculum and books, Housing and growth, Policing and crime, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Gender care for minors, Redistricting, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Death penalty, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Transgender athletes, China policy.
Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Spotted something wrong? Every claim links to its source so you can check it yourself.