Who will replace John Rogers? Polling stations for House of Representatives seats in the Birmingham area will be open on Tuesday

Voters in parts of Birmingham will decide Tuesday in the final election race to decide who will claim the Alabama House of Representatives seat that John Rogers has held for more than 40 years.

Alabama District 52 Kelvin Datcher, a senior adviser to Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodin, faces Erskine Brown Jr., a lesser-known Republican in the race to represent the heavily Democratic district.

The district, which includes parts of Birmingham, Fairfield, Homewood and Mountain Brook, will have a new representative for the first time since 1982. Longtime Rep. Rogers resigned in March after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges in a kickback scheme.

Brown, who does not have a campaign website or social media page, said he knows it will be difficult for him to convince the district’s voters that the GOP best fits their interests and needs.

“I am a voice you can hear, not an image you can see,” he said, declining to provide a photo for publication with this article. “I’m not just there to promote my face. I want my voice to be heard.”

Brown, a retiree who works as a caregiver, is the son of Erskine Brown Sr., the late Democratic political activist and member of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center Authority Board.

Brown said he wants to increase benefits for seniors and strengthen support for health care and education. He said he also supports tightening Birmingham’s curfew for children under 17 to prevent violent crime.

“I’m not saying it would completely solve the problem, but it would help reduce it,” he said. “If they are under 16, they need to be in someone’s home.”

Datcher, 54, is supported by Woodfin. Citing his long resume working with local political officials, Datcher said he brings the experience needed to build a stronger relationship between Birmingham and state government.

Datcher’s platform includes supporting public education, increasing affordable housing and community development, and expanding access to health care.

Tuesday’s general election will be the third time voters will go to the polls to fill the seat, following a Democratic primary with no Republican opposition and a subsequent runoff.

There was no Republican challenger at the time Datcher won the July 16 Democratic primary. Brown’s late entry into the race in late July came as a surprise to political observers, who initially called the election for Datcher.

Datcher said he was strategic in the final weeks of his campaign, reaching out to former voters who were most likely to vote again.

“We’ve been working in this final phase just to make sure we stay in touch with the people who voted in the primary and the runoff,” he said. “We are much more targeted.”

Brown first ran for office as a Democrat four decades ago in an unsuccessful race for state Senate. He said the party did not support him at the time.

Brown noted that the Republican Party was historically the party that championed black rights after the Civil War. District 52 is a majority black district.

“I’m trying to push through it and see what I can do,” Brown said.

Datcher noted the odd timing of the special election, coming just before a presidential election and during a season full of other distractions, including college football.

“These things deprived the room of oxygen,” he said.