Tom Butler soundly defeated his challenger in Tuesday’s Republican primary election for the District 2 seat in the state Senate.

Like MacArthur leaving the Philippines, the former Democrat who was ousted in the 2010 Republican sweep, hopes to return to the seat he once held. Butler, a Madison pharmacist, will have to get past well-financed and capable Amy Wasyluka, an appellate attorney from Madison who was strongly leading in the Democratic primary for the same seat.

In Limestone County, Butler defeated challenger Steve Smith 3,821 votes, or 68.40 percent of the total votes cast, to Smith’s 1,765 votes, or 31.60 percent, according to the unofficial tally on the Secretary of State’s website. At press time, Wasyluka was leading her challenger, former Limestone County Democratic Party head Michael Smith of Athens, 2,768 votes, or 68.35 percent, to Smith’s 1,282 votes, or 31.65 percent.

Butler and Wasyluka won their primaries by enough margin to avoid a runoff election with their competitors. The two will now face each other in the Nov. 6 general election. The winner of that race will become the next District 2 state senator and represent residents in parts of Limestone and Madison counties.

Butler was buoyant after the returns showed he had won on the GOP ticket and after Smith called him to concede.

“I’m excited to represent Limestone County again,” Butler said. “I represented them for a long time before. I know them; they know me. I know their needs, and I’m ready to help out.”

Butler joked that his wife, Karen, gave him permission to run for the District 2 Senate seat this time.

“I’ve watched things go unworked on and I’m ready to make sure Limestone County and the whole district have a fair voice,” he said.

Wasyluka, a newcomer to state politics, was cautious about the numbers at press time even though they showed there was little chance her opponent could win. She declined to comment until she had final numbers.

Many members of the Athens City Council and Limestone County Commission were hoping to elect a District 2 senator from Athens or Limestone County or at least someone who will show as much allegiance to the city and county as to Madison and Huntsville. Some officials have said they did not always see that quality in Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, who defeated Butler in 2010 but did not seek re-election this year. Holtzclaw had announced his candidacy for the 5th District Congressional seat last year then canceled the plan to take a private sector job, leaving the District 2 seat up for grabs.

Butler

Butler, the Republican finalist, earned degrees from both the University of Alabama and Auburn University. He and his wife, Karen, had two daughters, Robin Butler King and Jill Butler Lares, who died in 2010, along with four grandchildren.

His previous political experience includes serving in the state House of Representatives, representing Limestone and Madison counties, and serving in the state Senate, representing Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties.

Butler recently told The News Courier that among the three biggest challenges facing the state Legislature are budgets, road funding and education. He said he has 28 years dealing with state budgets and that he has a plan to help with infrastructure funding with the President’s infrastructure bill. He said the area has thousands of jobs coming into the region so it needs to increase career tech investments to train workers as well as take care of roads and bridges.

Wasyluka

Wasyluka, the likely Democratic Party finalist, earned a political science degree from Auburn University in 2006 and a Law Degree from the University Of Alabama School Of Law in 2009. She and her husband, Tim Wasyluka Jr., had a daughter, Ruth Grace. Here previous political experience includes volunteering for the Doug Jones for Senate campaign, being a current member of the Madison County Democratic Women and the Madison County Democratic Executive Committee, and being a former member of Auburn College Democrats.

Wasyluka recently told The News Courier that among the biggest challenges facing the state Legislature are how to properly fund our education system and ensure our students have access to opportunities for good paying jobs after high school. She said she would assist the Legislature in addressing these problems by looking at ways to bring more funding into our education system, including bringing a lottery to the state of Alabama.