Alabama voters Tuesday will choose party nominees for offices up and down the ballot, ending a primary campaign largely focused on culture war issues and personal backgrounds.
State Republicans will choose their nominees for U.S. Senate, secretary of state, state auditor and the Alabama Public Service Commission. Democrats will choose a nominee for governor.
One would need an electron microscope to determine ideological differences between the candidates. The campaigns and arguments have centered around personal qualities and qualifications.
If traditional trends hold, it will likely be a small group of Alabamians who make the decisions about the next round of nominees. Turnout for the May 24 primary was 23%, and runoff turnout tends to be lower, as voters are restricted to voting for the party for which they cast a primary ballot. Secretary of State John Merrill said Thursday the office expected turnout to land between 10 and 15%, though he said it was “important to remember turnout in the primary was very low.”
U.S. Senate
The most high-profile race on the Tuesday ballot features former Business Council of Alabama President and CEO Katie Britt and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks of Huntsville.
Britt took about 45% of the vote on May 24, with a particularly strong showing in her native Wiregrass and south Alabama. Since the primary, Britt, a longtime aide to outgoing U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, has consolidated establishment support behind her. She got the endorsement of former President Donald Trump on June 10 and has also picked up endorsements from the Alabama Realtors Association, the Alabama Rural Electric Association and the Alabama Hospital Association. Britt has also enjoyed a major cash advantage in the race: through June 1, she spent $6.1 million to Brooks’ $3.5 million.
Brooks, who got about 29% of the vote, has tried to make the election a referendum on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose political action committee has targeted the congressman. He also tried to pick up the endorsement of Mike Durant, who finished in third place on May 24 and had several second-place finishes in counties in north and eastern Alabama. But Durant told the Associated Press earlier this month that he did not plan to make an endorsement in the race.
Britt, who worked as a longtime aide to outgoing U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, calls Brooks a “career politician” and has attacked him over criticisms Brooks made of Trump as a surrogate for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign. Brooks has criticized Britt for backing out of a proposed debate on June 14, after Britt criticized Durant for refusing to debate opponents ahead of the May 24 primary. The Britt campaign suggested Brooks would use the forum for personal attacks.
The winner will face Democratic nominee Will Boyd in the November election.
More:The Alabama GOP Senate runoff: 5 questions ahead of the June 21 election
Secretary of State
Rep. Wes Allen of Troy faces outgoing State Auditor Jim Zeigler in the runoff for the Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections in the state.
Allen has considerably outspent Zeigler in the race: through June 16, he had spent $675,082 on the race, to Zeigler’s $131,689. But Zeigler finished first in the May 24 primary, taking 42.7% of the vote to Allen’s 39.7%.
Both candidates say they want to maintain the security of the election system, and both oppose efforts to make voting easier or more convenient. Zeigler is casting himself as the outsider candidate in the race and says he would be a “watchman” on the state’s election system. Allen, a former Pike County Probate Judge, is stressing his experience running elections and calls himself the only “lifelong” Republican in the race, an allusion to the fact Zeigler, like many other state Republicans, started his political life as a Democrat.
The winner will face Democratic nominee Pamela Laffitte in the November election.
State auditor
Like the Secretary of State’s race, the Republican state auditor campaign features one deep-pocketed candidate and one coming in from the outside. Rep. Andrew Sorrell of Muscle Shoals faces businessman Stan Cooke for the office. The state auditor oversees Alabama property and appoints registrars to county boards.
Through June 16, Sorrell spent $652,852 on the race. Cooke spent $119,183.
Both men say they want to improve the state auditor’s oversight powers. Sorrell wants to move the Alabama Department of Public Examiners under the office, a move that would require legislative approval. Cooke says he would try to improve coordination with other state offices and hire more auditors to work in individual cities.
Democrats do not have a nominee for the office.
Public Service Commission
Public Service Commission members Jeremy Oden and Chip Beeker face challengers Brent Woodall, an attorney, and Robert L. McCollum, a business owner. Technically the public utility regulator in Alabama, the PSC is little more than a rubber stamp for state utilities.
The incumbents have outspent the challengers by a considerable margin. Oden has spent just under $370,000; Beeker has spent $391,000. Woodall has spent $57,091 and McCollum has spent $4,466. Oden and Beeker have both gotten support from chain PACs, which consolidate donations from multiple entities and make it hard to tell from public records which business is supporting a candidate.
Democrats do not have nominees for the positions.
Governor (Democratic runoff)
The gubernatorial runoff features Yolanda Flowers, a first-time candidate, and Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier of Selma. Both candidates are pushing for improved educational opportunities, economic development and criminal justice reform.
Democratic spending has been all but nonexistent in the gubernatorial race; through the end of May, Flowers and Fortier’s combined spending was smaller than many individual donations on the Republican side. Flowers had spent $2,810; Fortier had spent $2,684.
The winner, who would be the first Black Alabamian to be nominated for governor by a major party, will face a difficult battle against Gov. Kay Ivey, who won the Republican nomination on May 24. No Democrat has won a gubernatorial election in Alabama since 1998, and Ivey will likely raise millions of dollars for her campaign.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.
