As political party qualifying has ended for the June 5 primaries and the campaigns will soon begin in earnest, there is no shortage of intriguing races in north Alabama. Some incumbents opting not to seek re-election, some incumbents looking for bigger jobs and some races just have a lot of money. Check out the top races to watch in north Alabama.

Qualified Democratic candidates statewide.

Qualified Republican candidates statewide.

Trish Crain

Alabama State House in Montgomery.

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State Senate District 7

This includes downtown Huntsville and Paul Sanford, after having served two full terms in the Senate, is walking away from his seat. Seeking to fill his spot are two political heavyweights: Sam Givhan, the top lieutenant to state GOP chair Terry Lathan, and state board of education member Mary Scott Hunter.

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Givhan originally ran for the seat in 2009 when Sanford won in a special election. He's also chair of the Madison County Republican executive committee.

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Hunter is wrapping up her second term on the state school board and originally cast her eyes on lieutenant governor for the 2018 election cycle. She has since shifted focus on the state Senate seat.

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Hunter has more than $227,000 on hand for a campaign that began with a statewide focus while Givhan has raised $127,000 himself. Givhan and Hunter will be the favorites in the race that also includes Democrats Deborah Barros (left), Johnathan Hard (center), and Deidra Willis (right).

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State Senate District 2

This includes Madison and west Huntsville. Bill Holtzclaw is the two-term incumbent but he isn't seeking a third. He announced a bid for Congress but has since scrapped that plan. State Rep. Phil Williams said he was going to run for Holtzclaw's seat but has since had a chance of heart.

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It might appear to clear the path for Tom Butler to regain his old seat in the legislature. He served 28 years in the legislature as a Democrat but switched parties in 2011.

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Another familiar face in the race is Steve Smith, who is serving his second term on the Madison city council. He's running as a Republican.

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Two Democrats in the race are attorney and cancer survivor Amy Wasyluka (above) and Michael L. Smith.

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State Senate District 10

Covering parts of Etowah, St. Clair, Cherokee and DeKalb counties, incumbent Phil Williams is not running for re-election. The open seat has attracted to House members to run: Republican Mack Butler (above) and Democrat House minority leader Craig Ford, who is running as an independent. Butler has a huge fundraising advantage with more than $140,000 in cash on hand while Jones has raised about $3,000 and Ford is yet to report.

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Ford had previously announced he would not run again after criticizing state Democrat leadership. But he announced last week his candidacy as an independent. There are no Democrats who qualified for the race. Small business owner and farmer Andrew Jones has also qualified as a Republican.

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State Senate District 6

Covering parts of Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Marion counties, Republican state Sen. Larry Stutts is running for a second term. Stutts has primary opposition from Eric Aycock, Daniel H. Boman and Steve Lolley. Boman is a former House member who was elected as a Republican, then switched to the Democratic Party in 2011. He lost his re-election bid in 2014. His most recent campaign finance disclosure filing listed Boman as a Democrat but he qualified for the June 5 race as a Republican.

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The only Democrat to qualify is one of the most familiar names in Montgomery. State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow was first elected in 1990 but is now chasing a seat in the Senate.

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State House District 21

This is a somewhat bizarre race in the aftermath of the sudden death of state Rep. Jim Patterson on Oct. 2, 2017. To fill Patterson's seat that includes downtown Huntsville, Gov. Kay Ivey set a special election for March 27. Democrat Terry Jones and Republican Rex Reynolds are on the special election ballot.

Jones (right) and Reynolds (left) are also on the ballot for the June 5 primaries. But with no party opposition in the primaries, Jones and Reynolds will face off again in November.

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State House District 22

This sprawling district covers rural eastern Madison County, including the towns of New Hope and Owens Cross Roads, as well as part of western Jackson County. It's a rematch of the 2014 race when state Rep. Ritchie Whorton defeated Republican incumbent Wayne Johnson in the GOP primary. There are no Democrats in the race. Both candidates have reported spending more than $100,000 each so far in the race -- a higher-than-normal figure for a House race.

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State House District 9

Covering parts of Morgan, Cullman and Marshall counties, the seat is held by the retiring Ed Henry -- one of the legislature's most high-profile personalities. He was among the leaders seeking to impeach former Gov. Robert Bentley and has held a strong presence on the campaign trail for President Trump, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former Senate candidate Roy Moore.

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Democrat Terrie Jones Savage is the sister of recently-elected U.S. Sen. Doug Jones. She is the only Democrat who qualified.

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On the Republican side, there are three candidates: James Bowling (left), Justin Morrow (center) and Scott Stadthagen (right). Based on fundraising and spending, Stadthagen would appear to be the favorite. He's spent seven times more money than his closest opponents, who have less than $500 in cash on hand.

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State House District 4

Covering parts of Morgan and Limestone counties, this is another race preceded by a special election. State Rep. Micky Hammon (above) was House majority leader but was forced to leave the House after pleading guilty to mail fraud in September 2017.

Tom Fredricks and Parker Moore face off in the GOP runoff on Feb. 27 and the winner will face Democrat Juanita Healey in the May 15 general election. Those three are also the only candidates in the June 5 primary.

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State House District 3

Covering parts of Colbert, Lauderdale and Lawrence counties, Democrat incumbent Marcel Black (above) is retiring after 28 years in the legislature. And it looks as if the seat could swing to the GOP.

Muscle Shoals businessman Andrew Sorrell has more than $101,000 in cash on hand while another Republican qualifier, Humphrey Lee, has just under $6,000. Lee is the recently retired president of Northwest/Shoals Community College.

The lone Democrat in the race, Chad Young, has not yet filed a campaign finance report.

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Morgan County sheriff

Ana Franklin, the only female sheriff in Alabama, isn't seeking re-election after serving two terms. Franklin has been in the midst of controversy in recent months after having been found in contempt of court last year and, according to The New York Times, she's a subject of a federal investigation.

Former sheriff candidate Randy Cavnar, former fire chief and deputy Darrell Childers, Trinity councilman Scott Owens, Hartselle resident Robert Clairday and Hartselle police chief Ron Puckett are running to replace Franklin.

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Limestone County Commission chair

Mark Yarbrough (above) is running for re-election and his profile perhaps got a boost as one of the government leaders that helped bring the Toyota-Mazda plants to Huntsville. Collin Daly, who works for Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority, announced his candidacy last week. His father, Gary, was a former Limestone commissioner.