The race to fill the Alabama Senate District 17 seat has narrowed from seven contenders to two.

Trussville businessman Shay Shelnutt and Locust Fork attorney Brett King were the clear front-runners in the Republican primary to fill the seat being vacated by Scott Beason.

King drew large support from much of his home area in Blount County, and led the race for much of the night, while Shelnutt fared better in the Jefferson County precincts and took the lead late in the evening.

With 48 out if 51 precincts (94 percent) reporting as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Shelnutt had received 35 percent of the vote, while King got 30 percent.

Oneonta businessman Jim Murphree, who ran against Beason in this same race four years ago, was a distant third with 10 percent of the vote. Two Gardendale attorneys were next, with Gayle Gear fourth at eight percent, barely ahead of Jim Roberts in fifth. Pinson city councilman Joe Cochran was sixth with six percent, and Corner energy-industry consultant Adam Ritch was seventh with three percent.

King and Shelnutt are both political newcomers in their first-ever campaigns. King invested heavily in online and cable-television advertising in the latter stages of the campaign. Shelnutt became well-known to local high school baseball and softball fans for an unusual advertising method: sponsoring foul balls hit out of play via ballpark announcers (except for Pinson Valley softball, where Cochran is the announcer).

Shelnutt and King will now go head to head in the GOP runoff on July 15.