Alabama Democrats are hoping to put at least a small dent in Republicans’ stronghold on all three branches of state government in the Nov. 6 general election.

With continuation of the GOP’s grip on the executive, legislative and judicial branches all but assured, the Democrats’ best hope to win a statewide office seems to lie in the race for chief justice, where Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Bob Vance faces Republican Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker.

“Other than that race, I don’t see anything happening for Democrats,” said Larry Powell, a longtime political consultant and professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

That was before Vance began an aggressive ad campaign last week, attacking Parker’s close affiliation with twice-ousted Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Democrats hoped Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox would put up a strong challenge to Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican who was elected lieutenant governor four years ago and became the state’s chief executive when Robert Bentley resigned as governor last year after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations.

Powell said had he expected Maddox to try to ignite enthusiasm for a state lottery as the strong theme for his campaign. That’s what Don Siegelman did in 1998, when he became the last Democrat to be elected governor. But Powell said that never developed as a consistent theme.

While Ivey campaigned on her ability to bring new jobs to Alabama, Maddox criticized her refusal to agree to a debate.

Powell said the Democrat suffered from a lack of focus.

“I thought they were going to hammer the lottery as the main issue, that they would jump all over the lottery as a focus,” he said.

The ballot includes 20 statewide races, with Democrats challenging Republicans in nine of them, along with four statewide constitutional amendments and one local amendment each for Jefferson and Shelby counties.

Across the state, voters also will be choosing their legislators, judges, court officials, county commissioners, board of education members, sheriffs, district attorneys and other officials, including members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The BirminghamWatch General Election Voter Guide is your resource for investigating how you will mark your ballot Tuesday. Read more.

More Stories in the Voter Guide

Sample Ballots: Review and Print Your Ballot Before You Go to the Polls

Candidate List and Profiles

The BirminghamWatch Voters’ Toolbox Prepares You to Choose Your Candidates, Cast Your Vote and Deal With Problems If They Arise

Here Are the Biggest Contributors to the Gubernatorial and Chief Justice Campaigns

Familiar Battles Appear on Voter’s Ballots in the Form of Proposed Constitutional Amendments