Democrats from 6 counties in Northeast Alabama pooled their resources to host Northeast Alabama’s 2017 Democratic Senate Forum in Heflin Saturday afternoon.

Democrats are working to flip the US Senate seat formerly held by, now, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and currently held by Luther Strange, a former Alabama Attorney General who was appointed by Governor Robert Bentley who appointed him to that seat just before resigning as governor in connection with a plea agreement on two misdemeanor charges.

Nearly 300 people gathered to hear the seven candidates discuss various issues including healthcare, education, job creation, and many more.

Two of the most prevalent themes of the afternoon were sending someone to Washington who will fight to protect public education and work to lower health care costs while still providing coverage to all.