Category: 2020 Primary Elections
Fridy, Windom Win Appellate Court Races; Kellum and Smith Head to Runoff
MONTGOMERY — Alabama voters on Tuesday gave clear-cut victories in two races for appellate judgeships, while sending a third to a runoff.
For Place 1 on the Court of Civil Appeals, State Rep. Matt Fridy, R-Montevallo, defeated Pelham attorney Phillip Bahakel by 66% to 34%. There is no Democrat running in the November general election.
For Place 1 on the Court of Criminal Appeals, incumbent Mary Windom defeated Cullman attorney Melvin Hasting by 70% to 30%. With no Democratic primary opponent, Windom will be uncontested in the general election.
For Place 2 on the Court of Criminal Appeals, incumbent Beth Kellum will face former Lauderdale County Commissioner Will Smith in a runoff on March 31. There is no Democrat running in the November general election.
Sessions, Tuberville in GOP Runoff for Senate; Trump Criticizes Sessions
Jeff Sessions, bidding to take back the U.S. Senate seat he held for two decades, will face political newcomer and longtime college football coach Tommy Tuberville in a March 31 runoff for the Republican nomination for the position.
With the campaign revolving around which candidate is the stronger supporter of President Donald Trump, the president seemingly inserted himself into the race early Wednesday with a tweet criticizing Sessions.
“This is what happens to someone who loyally gets appointed Attorney General of the United States & then doesn’t have the wisdom or courage to stare down & end the phony Russia Witch Hunt,” Trump tweeted. “Recuses himself on FIRST DAY in office, and the Mueller Scam begins!”
Sessions was an early supporter of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, and the president appointed Sessions as his first attorney general. When Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, Trump responded with scathing criticism and forced him to resign.
Tuberville and Sessions led a field of seven candidates in Tuesday’s GOP primary election. Both immediately declared their loyalty to the president and his programs.
It’s Election Day
Voting is steady in Jefferson County this evening as polls prepare to close at 7 p.m.
County Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson said he expected the county to hit the 30% voter turnout projected by the secretary of state.
Grace Newcombe, Alabama Secretary of State’s Office spokeswoman, also said polls seemed to have run smoothly and consistently across the state today.
At the top of the ballot are races for president and the U.S. Senate. But other races also are on the ballot, including races for the state Supreme Court and appellate courts, Public Service Commission and a host of county races. Also at stake is the future of the Alabama Board of Education, as voters decide whether that group should remain an elected board or become a politically appointed commission via Amendment 1. Read more.
In the Weeds: A Career of Fighting Has Led Byrne to Senate Showdown
MONTGOMERY — Bradley Byrne is a fighter.
That’s what Alabama’s 1st District Congressman says differentiates him from the field of other candidates in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, and there’s plenty of evidence that his previous experience backs that up.
Over a political career that has taken him from the state school board and the state Senate to the Alabama Community College System chancellor’s office and the U.S. House of Representatives, Byrne’s fights have been famous.
Perhaps the most successful was Byrne’s bout with the state’s two-year college system, which had been mired in a patronage scandal until he, a reform-minded governor and federal prosecutors came in to clean it up.
Perhaps the least successful was a run for governor in 2010 that saw him on a quixotic quest to take on the then-all-powerful state teachers’ association, only for that group to marshal untold resources to defeat him in the end.
Now Byrne finds himself in the middle of another high-profile fight as he seeks to win a U.S. Senate seat by first outmatching two better-known Republican rivals in former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. The winner of the Republican primary — or runoff, if needed — will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in November. Read more.
Don’t Go to the Polls Without BW’s 2020 Primary Voter Guide — Mobile
In BirminghamWatch’s 2020 Primary Voter Guide, you’ll find:
A story on what candidates in the U.S. Senate race have to say about issues important to voters and why the Senate race is driving debate about the election.
A story about the candidates’ positions on issues in the Republican primary for president, and in the Democratic primary for president.
A story about the statewide amendment on the ballot, which would move the state Board of Education from an elected board to an appointed one.
Profiles of candidates on the ballot, including basic information about each of the candidates along with the top contributors to their campaigns, the main issues they’re citing in their campaigns and links to their web or social media sites. A list of those links will be updated this evening.
Printable sample ballots you can use to mark your own choices for each race.
And a Voter’s Toolbox of information about voting, including which districts will be on your ballot and how to find your polling place.
It’s all in one package on the BirminghamWatch 2020 Primary Voter Guide.
Don’t Go to the Polls Without the 2020 Primary Voter Guide
In BirminghamWatch’s 2020 Primary Voter Guide, you’ll find:
A story on what candidates in the U.S. Senate race have to say about issues important to voters and why the Senate race is driving debate about the election.
A story about the candidates’ positions on issues in the Republican primary for president, and in the Democratic primary for president.
A story about the statewide amendment on the ballot, which would move the state Board of Education from an elected board to an appointed one.
Profiles of candidates on the ballot, including basic information about each of the candidates along with the top contributors to their campaigns, the main issues they’re citing in their campaigns and links to their web or social media sites. A list of those links will be updated this evening.
Printable sample ballots you can use to mark your own choices for each race.
And a Voter’s Toolbox of information about voting, including which districts will be on your ballot and how to find your polling place.
It’s all in one package on the BirminghamWatch 2020 Primary Voter Guide.
Will Smith
Republican candidate for Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals Place 2
Melvin Hasting
Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals Place 1
Jill Ganus
Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals Place 2
Cam Ward
Alabama Supreme Court, Associate Justice