Rep. Artur Davis was trounced Tuesday in his bid to become Alabama’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

Originally the favorite for the Democratic nomination, Davis lost to state Agricultural Commissioner Ron Sparks. With 58 percent of the precincts reporting just before 11 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday, Sparks had 64 percent of the vote to Davis’ 36 percent.

Davis had hoped to capture some of the momentum that President Barack Obama had built among African-American voters but also hoped to display some of Obama’s crossover appeal. It never materialized for him.

Davis gave up a safe Democratic House seat in the Montgomery area to make his statewide bid. The Democratic primary to replace him had not been settled as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.