2018 Elections

Vance’s Campaign Coffers Swell in Chief Justice Race

Democrat Robert S. “Bob” Vance Jr.’s campaign coffers swelled in August in the race to be the next chief justice, continuing his lead in fundraising for the high court seat he nearly won in 2012.

During the month, Vance raised $208,969 in cash and $733 in in-kind contributions. The campaign spent $27,972 in August

Republican challenger Thomas “Tom” Parker of Montgomery, an associate justice on the state’s high court, raised $3,910 in cash during the month and ended the month with $17,509 in the bank.

Parker, who defeated incumbent Chief Justice Lyn Stuart in the GOP primary, has raised $429,152 since kicking off his campaign.

Vance has raised $632,472 in contributions since kicking off his campaign and ended August with $420,197 in the bank. Vance is a Jefferson County circuit judge who fell 4 percentage points short of defeating Roy Moore in the 2012 race for chief justice.

Vance’s largest contributors last month were J.T. Stephens of Birmingham and the Birmingham firm of Heninger, Garrison, Davis, LLC, each of which contributed $10,000. Two other Birmingham law firms – Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton and Marsh, Rickard & Bryan – contributed $5,000 each to the Vance effort.

On the Republican side, the Parker campaign received a contribution of $2,500 from Farm PAC of Montgomery and $1,000 from Col. James E. Wilson, also of the capital city.

Here are the top August contributors to each of the campaigns:

Thomas “Tom” Parker

$2,500: Farm PAC, Montgomery.

$1,000: Col. James E. Wilson, Montgomery.

Robert S. “Bob” Vance Jr.

$10,000: Heninger, Garrison, Davis, LLC, Birmingham; J.T. Stephens, Birmingham.

$5,000: Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, Birmingham; Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, P.C., Birmingham.