2020 election

Iowa’s Election Problems Can’t Happen in Alabama, Merrill Says

Problems like the ones in the Iowa Democratic caucus cannot happen in Alabama because the state holds elections, not closed meetings of political parties to select candidates, the state’s top elections official said Thursday. “A caucus is not like any election that we have here,” Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said. “A caucus is administered and counted by (political) parties in Iowa and not by the secretary of state. It has nothing to do with the election process in that state.  “People running the election do not do so on a regular basis,” Merrill said. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

See Who Contributed to U.S. Senate Candidates

Candidates running for the U.S. Senate seat from Alabama collectively started the year with more than $11 million to fund their campaigns. See who recently has contributed to the candidates. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Leading U.S. Senate Candidates Began the Year With Millions to Fuel Campaigns

Former Sen. Jeff Sessions, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne and retired football coach Tommy Tuberville entered 2020 with millions of dollars in the bank as they campaign for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. The winner of the GOP primary on March 3, or of a possible runoff three weeks later, will face freshman Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama’s Nov. 3 general election. Jones is unopposed for his party’s nomination and also started the year with millions. Sessions started 2020 with $2.54 million in his campaign chest, Byrne with $2.19 million, Tuberville with $1.52 million, Arnold Mooney with $321,629.83, Roy Moore with $44,116 and Jones with $5.48 million. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Alabama Young Dems Focus: Re-Elect Doug Jones

The Young Democrats of America wrapped up their national conference in Birmingham Sunday. More than 200 Democrats participated in training sessions to help organize in red states like Alabama. The conference left young Democrats across the state hopeful about the 2020 election. Alabama Young Democrats were easy to spot at this weekend’s conference, which took place at the Sheraton Birmingham, many wearing U.S. Senator Doug Jones campaign buttons. Read more.

by Janae Pierre, WBHM

Sessions Running for Senate, Hoping to Make Up With Trump

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on national television tonight that he will seek election to the U.S. Senate seat that he held for two decades. Appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight on the Fox News channel, Sessions told the host that he will file his papers to run for his former seat on Friday. Carlson called Sessions the most popular person in the state after the University of Alabama football coach at the time he stepped away from the Senate. But the Selma native said he has no regrets about leaving the seat. “I had a great tenure at the Department of Justice in so many different ways,” he said. “I don't ever worry about regret and things like that." Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Senate Candidate Roy Moore Disses Impeachment Proceedings, Says it Is Time for Washington to Get Back to Business

Roy Moore said Thursday that he does not think the allegations being investigated by Democrats against President Donald Trump constitute high crimes or misdemeanors under the constitution. “I think we need to get off impeachment proceedings and get back to the business of the country,” Moore said after qualifying to run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. “I think the president has every right to coordinate with foreign entities. That’s the job of the president.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jones Stockpiles $5 Million for Senate Race, Byrne Leads GOP Candidates With $2.5 Million Nest Egg

Sen. Doug Jones enters the final quarter of 2019 with more than $5 million in the bank as he campaigns for a full term in the U.S. Senate. Jones, who became the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate since 1997 when he defeated Roy Moore in a special election in December 2017, has amassed almost twice as much cash as any of his potential Republican challengers. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Biden at 16th Street Baptist Church Commemoration: ‘Hate is on the Rise’

Parishioners and elected officials gathered Sunday to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham. The theme for the memorial observance was “a love that forgives.” During her speech, U.S. Air Force chaplain Lt. Col. Ruth Segres said a love that forgives does not call us to forget. “We have

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

Time for new Alabama Democratic Party leadership, says Sen. Doug Jones

With pressure mounting from national party leaders and the Democratic National Committee, the state’s highest-ranking Democratic officeholder says the state party needs new leaders. Sen. Doug Jones told Birmingham Watch on Thursday that he is frustrated with the Alabama Democratic Party’s direction, or lack thereof, and he would like to see Chairwoman Nancy Worley replaced. Jones’ comments came after a student forum held at Miles College in Fairfield. “Leadership needs to be changed, and I think it’s going to be changed. I think there’s still some things that will have to be done,” Jones said. “We don’t even have a delegate selection plan right now. It's been rejected. I think once we can get bylaws done, soon we’ll get a new election. We're going to expand. I believe the membership of the party will include more youth, more diversity and opportunities we haven’t had in a long, long time. I’m very, very optimistic about where we're going to ultimately go with the party.” Read more.

by Robert Carter

#DougMeetsMiles: Jones Takes Questions Via Twitter at Forum With College Students

Doug Jones mentioned early in his remarks before an audience of students from Miles College that when he went to Washington, D.C., after winning a special election to the U.S. Senate, he didn’t realize that he was going to be a part of a government that functioned according to what someone says on Twitter — an oblique reference to President Donald Trump’s penchant for tweets that make the nation’s capital go topsy-turvy. Then he opened the floor for questions, which were submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #DougMeetsMiles. Students could therefore be forgiven for working on their smart phones during Jones’ appearance Thursday at Pearson Hall on the campus of the historically black college in Fairfield. It was one of several town hall meetings he held at universities and colleges across the state during the Senate’s recess. Jones faced a friendly crowd, who asked him mostly about issues that are part of the Democratic Party agenda. Restoration of voting rights for felons, abortion rights, ways of combating the recent wave of mass shootings and help for those with heavy debt loads from student loans were among the topics the students posed to Alabama’s junior senator. Read more.

by Robert Carter