Democrats See Surge in Candidates Running for Office; Party Official Credits Jones Win for Boosting Interest
The Democratic Party is having a surge in interest from candidates this year, particularly for seats in the Legislature. As the deadline for candidates to qualify for races on the 2018 ballot passed Friday, Alabama Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Worley reported a big turnout of qualifying candidates. “We had a very strong group of people qualify for federal and state seats,” she said. She said county chairmen also reported strong results. “We are going to see a very interesting primary with a strong field of nominees,” she said. Worley said Doug Jones’ win in the race for U.S. Senate in December probably energized Democratic candidates to run this year. “We’ve got a lot of strong active women running, a lot of young people running, and a lot who haven't ever run before,” Worley said. In fact, the party has seen a 45 percent jump in candidates qualifying to run for the state House of Representatives compared to the 2014 election. That year, the Democrats fielded 80 candidates in 62 House races. This year, it has 116 candidates in 75 races. In the Senate, the Democrats ran 28 candidates in 2014, compared to 31 this year. The party has seen similar growth at the top of the ticket. In 2014, it had two candidates for governor and one each for attorney general, commissioner of agriculture and industries, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and auditor. This year, it has six candidates running for governor alone. Another two are running for attorney general, two for secretary of state and one for auditor. Read more.
