There was a reason why Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright was courted by both parties to enter Alabama’s 2nd district race last year.

The popular mayor, who eventually decided to run as a conservative Democrat, won the seat of retiring Rep. Terry Everett (R) Tuesday, flipping this southwest Alabama seat into the Democratic column.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Bright held a less than 1-point lead over state Rep. Jay Love (R) when the Associated Press called the race for the Democrat.

Bright’s victory almost certainly can be attributed to the nearly 30 percent of district voters who are African-American and who turned out overwhelmingly to vote for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.