Alabama State House District 42

Tue, Nov 3 · Represented by Van Smith Republican · Member list as of Oct 28

Van SmithRepublican · Incumbent4 years since first win

One candidate on the printed ballot.

Last election: Van Smith (Republican) won by 85.8 points, 2022
On the 2026 ballot: 1 candidate

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Candidates on the ballot

Van SmithIncumbentRepublican

This list may not include every candidate. See the official list at the Alabama Secretary of State, Elections Division

Source: sos.alabama.gov (PDF), dated Aug 28

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Official results for Alabama

History (15 elections for this seat)

Votes for listed candidates: 13,300
Election day: November 8, 2022
District map: Older district map (2022)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 2022, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanVan SmithWon	Republican	12,33692.8%	92.8%
LibertarianDoug Ward	Libertarian	9317.0%	7.0%
Scattered write-ins	Write-in	330.3%	0.3%

Votes for listed candidates: 12,557
Election day: November 6, 2018
District map: Older district map (2018 to 2021)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 2018, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanJames M. MartinWon(incumbent)	Republican	12,39898.7%	98.7%
Scattered write-ins	Write-in	1591.3%	1.3%

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 2014, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanMartinWon	Republican	9,41698.7%	98.7%
Scattered write-ins	Write-in	1231.3%	1.3%

Votes for listed candidates: 14,843
Election day: November 2, 2010
District map: Older district map (2002 to 2013)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 2010, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanKurt WallaceWon	Republican	9,38263.2%	63.2%
DemocraticJames M. Martin(incumbent)	Democratic	5,45236.7%	36.7%
Scattered write-ins	Write-in	90.1%	0.1%

Votes for listed candidates: 13,011
Election day: November 7, 2006
District map: Older district map (2002 to 2013)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 2006, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticJames M. MartinWon(incumbent)	Democratic	7,95061.1%	61.1%
RepublicanAllen Caton	Republican	5,06138.9%	38.9%

Votes for listed candidates: 14,687
Election day: November 5, 2002
District map: Older district map (2002 to 2013)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 2002, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticJames M. MartinWon(incumbent)	Democratic	8,66359.0%	59.0%
RepublicanAllen Caton	Republican	6,00940.9%	40.9%
Scattered write-ins	Write-in	150.1%	0.1%

Votes for listed candidates: 14,662
Election day: November 3, 1998
District map: Older district map (1994 to 2001)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1998, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticJames M. MartinWon	Democratic	7,62652.0%	52.0%
RepublicanParnell	Republican	7,03648.0%	48.0%

Votes for listed candidates: 13,067
Election day: November 8, 1994
District map: Older district map (1994 to 2001)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1994, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticCurtis SmithWon(incumbent)	Democratic	8,91068.2%	68.2%
RepublicanHoward Bialas	Republican	4,15731.8%	31.8%

Votes for listed candidates: 12,404
Election day: November 6, 1990
District map: Older district map (1983 to 1993)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1990, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticHugh HolladayWon	Democratic	7,56761.0%	61.0%
RepublicanMike Fricker	Republican	4,83739.0%	39.0%

Votes for listed candidates: 11,372
Election day: November 4, 1986
District map: Older district map (1983 to 1993)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1986, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticA. J. BlakeWon(incumbent)	Democratic	5,82651.2%	51.2%
RepublicanFred Hughes	Republican	5,54648.8%	48.8%

Votes for listed candidates: 2,882
Election day: November 8, 1983
Type: Special election
District map: Older district map (1983 to 1993)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1983, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticA. J. BlakeWon(incumbent)	Democratic	1,65657.5%	57.5%
RepublicanWhite	Republican	1,22642.5%	42.5%

Votes for listed candidates: 9,178
Election day: November 2, 1982
District map: Older district map (1982)

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1982, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticHugh BolesWon(incumbent)	Democratic	7,31279.7%	79.7%
RepublicanH. H. Lynn	Republican	1,86620.3%	20.3%

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1978, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticHugh BolesWon(incumbent)	Democratic	6,100100.0%	100.0%

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1974, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticHugh BolesWon(incumbent)	Democratic	4,606100.0%	100.0%

Alabama House of Representatives District 42, 1970 to 2022, 1970, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticFred BarkettWon	Democratic	6,922100.0%	100.0%

1970 to 2022: State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2022 (Carl Klarner, Harvard Dataverse), retrieved Oct 28, 2026. Compiled by Carl Klarner (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns; not an official source

Last contest in this district on file: 2022.

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Election Wrld. (2026). Alabama State House District 42, election results 1970 to 2022. https://www.electionwrld.com/al/house/42. Retrieved October 30, 2026.

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Sources

Sources: Census TIGERweb Legislative MapServer (120th CDs layer 0, 119th CDs layer 4, 2026 SLD upper layer 1 and lower layer 2) (US Census Bureau, public domain), retrieved Oct 28, 2026; Open Civic Data division identifiers (census_autogenerated us_sldl/us_sldu and openstates state files); also (sld-recent.json): Open Civic Data division identifiers (country-us) (CC0 (repository); also (sld-recent.json): CC0 1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026; Open States people (current) CSVs (CC0-1.0 (Open States people data)), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by Open States volunteers and staff (rosters from state legislature sites) from official returns, not an official source; State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2022 (Carl Klarner, Harvard Dataverse) (CC0 1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by Carl Klarner (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns, not an official source.

District id: ocd-division/country:us/state:al/sldl:42

DataState data (JSON)Sources: State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2022 (Carl Klarner, Harvard Dataverse)Data as of Oct 28, 2026