See also the AL - 05 Big List.
Welcome to the AL - 02 Big List.
This list has been an attempt to keep up with everyone in either political party who has been credibly mentioned (in public or private) as a potential candidate for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District since Rep. Terry Everett (R - Rehobeth) announced that he will not run for re-election.
Both parties’ qualifying period ended April 4, 2008. Three Democrats and six Republicans qualified for the primary race, and they are listed below. The primary is June 3.
The Political Parlor will update the Alabama Line (found in the sidebar) for the race, though perhaps not as fast as you like since input from a wide array of people is sought.
| Democrats |
Republicans |
IN
Bobby Bright, Montgomery Mayor
Cendie Crawley, Dentist, Troy native
Cheryl Sabel, Alabama NOW President
OUT
William Boyd, Montgomery Mayoral Candidate
Seth Hammett, Speaker of the House
Jimmy Holley, State Senator
Jimmy Lunsford, Troy Mayor
Gary McAliley, Pike/Coffee Co. DA
Wendell Mitchell, State Senator
Scott Ninesling
James Perdue, Crenshaw Co Probate Judge
Cooper Rutland, Union Springs Atty
Ron Sparks, Agricultural Commissioner
Terry Spicer, State Representative
Glen Zorn, former Florala Mayor
|
IN
David Grimes, State Representative
Jay Love, State Representative
John W. Martin, Retired Army (Dothan)
Craig Schmidtke, Dothan oral surgeon
Harri Anne Smith, State Senator
David Woods, President, WCOV-TV (Montgomery)
OUT
Greg Albritton, former state Representative
Wes Allen, former candidate for Auditor
Kenneth Boswell, Enterprise Mayor
Bobby Bright, Montgomery Mayor
Terry Butts, former Supreme Court Justice
Jim Byard, Prattville Mayor
Steve Clouse, State Representative
Mark Culver, Houston County Commissioner
Larry Dixon, State Senator
John Giles, former Christian Coalition of AL President
Jack Hawkins, Troy Univ. Chancellor
Jimmy Holley, State Senator
Tim James, Greenville businessman
Troy King, Attorney General
Ben Lewis, State Representative
Barry Mask, State Representative
Charles Nailen, Dothan businessman
Steve Pelham, former Everett staffer
Jim Sullivan, PSC President
George Wallace, Jr., former PSC Commissioner
Dot Waller, Autauga County Bd. of Ed.
Greg Wren, State Representative
|
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Bum bum bum…Another one bites the bust
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — January 9, 2008 @ 5:17 pm
Hananiah
Those wins were the product of many other dynamics that will not exist if Holley does run again now that he is a republican. This is like a family member being an Alabama or Auburn fan for twenty years and waking up one day and having the opposing jersey on. The family won’t like it. People recognize self-serving actions.
Don’t forget Holley was a big supporter of General Wesley Clark. You might also want to look at who Holley has supported over the years financially and otherwise. You got some people who have been on his team by way of their party affiliation who have helped Holley. They will spend every waking hour making sure Holley goes down in flames “if” he is foolish enough to run again.
Comment by Radar — January 7, 2008 @ 9:16 pm
Radar - Re: Post 315,
Holley won handily in ‘02 and ‘06 as a Dem. What makes you think he couldn’t do so again?
Comment by Hananiah — January 7, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
How much is Martin going to spend on the race? If the number is less than $500,000, he doesn’t have a chance. End of story. Smith has the base of votes and the money to weave a story about how great she is. So does Love. Martin has to do the same, AND take away votes from the other two… which means he has to challenge their stories. $500,000???? “Yes” or “No.” And no BS about “grass roots.” Smith and Love will have phone banks and volunteers too.
BTW — The Montgomery Advertiser says homicides hit a 30 year high. So how does Bright run as a Republican, when Republicans are the anti-crime party? He needs about a million bucks, and even then, one good negative TV ad could make it impossible. He voted for Al Gore and John Kerry, he hires immigrants to build the convention center… gives money to every Dem out there… and let’s crime get out of control. He and Holley are done.
Comment by Erin — January 7, 2008 @ 11:21 am
Congrats on the Montgomery Advertiser pointing out what is so obvious. That the people of Alabama deserve more out of the State Senate, but that goes for the House as well. These chambers have been mostly self serving here recently and have done little to address the needs of the citizens. It is for this reason why I ask how anyone could consider these members for the 2nd Cong District. They haven’t done the job they were hired to do, and now they want a promotion??? Government thinking at its finest.
Comment by Scott Ninesling — January 7, 2008 @ 8:00 am
It looks like (Senator) Jimmy Holley has cut a deal with the devil, or in this case Gov. Riley. Why you might ask would Holley roll over to the party he has fought against for the better part of his 30 plus political career? Answer: Holley knows he can’t successfully win the senate district again. So, he is telling everyone he is going to join the republican party and run in 2010 as a repub for the senate district. However, he will bail at the eleventh hour. Holley’s wife has told anyone who will listen that Holley is done. What is it Holley is getting for his Benedict Arnold move to the GOP. Look for a close Holley family member to get a circuit judgeship in the Wiregrass. Also look for Holley’s family medical business which is run by his son, or so they say, to get a big bump in state business with various state agencies. While this things are only a couple of many to come with this deal the real big one makes the 2nd congressional district race even more complicated. It is widely known Riley, Mike Hubbard and the Swatek team are lined up with State House Rep. Jay Love. Holley will get on the bandwagon of Love either vocally or behind the scenes and dig into the Wiregrass support of Harri Ann Smith. While there are alot of troubling things about this the biggest sore spot is Holley’s willingness to turn his back on the many people in his district who have time and time again returned Holley to Montgomery (as a democrat). More troubling is the fact Gov. Riley has done essentially nothing for Holley’s district during his reign and even less for Holley’s home county of Coffee. I guess Holley is a republican after all. He is more than ready to sell his soul to the GOP devil to get some quick quid pro quo that will pad his pocket and those in his family. Holley ought to be ashamed. Holley ought to be even more ashamed because he has previously expressed support for Smith’s congressional candidacy. Holley has traded Smith and essentially guaranteed Montgomery wins the 2nd district.
Comment by Radar — January 6, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
I wanted to give you my thoughts on this game playing issue. What ever you do John Martin, don’t buy into the hype that people want someone who knows how to play games in congress. For myself and I think a lot of people think like me, I want to believe in government again. When I hear the words “playing games” I think of unethical and underhanded actions. I think game playing is the main reason seven veteran republicans representing conservative districts were ousted by democrats in the 2006 elections for ethical misconduct fanned by the democratic committee. They (the democrats) ran on a culture of corruption theme.
The Republican Party is also fed up with game playing and unethical conduct because they now realize it is tearing them down. They have taken quick action to penalize 2 members…Rep Rick Renzi (Arizona) and John Doolottle (R-California). The DCCC has attacked Rep Heather Wilson (New Mexico) for her role in the scandal surrounding the firing of US Attorney David Iglesies and Rep Tom Feeney (R-Florida) has been interviewed by the FBI over his participation in a four day junket to Scotland funded by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. I assume both of these characters thought they were playing the game.
We need leaders who are going to work hard on behalf of the people in a transparent and ethical way.
Comment by House — January 6, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
MH is right about that pendulum. It swung against the dems in congress when they got caught in the House banking scandal that helped label them “tax and spend” Democrats. They also had no new ideas and no clear agenda. But the reps fell into the same trap with deficits and scandals and no new ideas. (The issues of abortion and immigration???!!! Is this 1988 or 2008?) Affordable healthcare, better schools, job creation, and tax cuts for the middle class are what matter to folks today. You want to win the 2nd CD as a democrat? You got the issues. Just make sure people know your pro-life and pro-gun. And find some money, or you’ll be like Mr. Martin with nobody except us loser bloggers knowing who you are.
Comment by Steph — January 4, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
And never forget that the public pulse is a pendulum that swings back and forth. It swings between extremes with the majority of the people falling slightly to one side or the other…but the side the majority falls on is part of that pendulum’s sweep.
The Dems are in power NOW…but it wasn’t that long ago that the Republicans were in power. Perhaps the people are fickle…or perhaps they become disillusioned with the status quo and go in the opposite direction in hopes of finding a better answer.
Whatever the reason, it works as our forefathers meant it to…checks and balances. It is pretty rare for a single group to hold all the cards and to be able to become overly powerful.
Comment by MH — January 4, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
Kahuna what happened to the John Martin for Congress you were using as your website?
And there are no “rules” to the political game. That is where experience comes in, you need to know how to work in a game that is fluid and has no set rules. What is taboo today could be a god given right tomorrow. Terry Everett did not know the game and spent the beginning of his time getting run over. He finally figured out how things worked and began making the system work for him. Sadly he did not have a grasp on things until his time was up and the dems were in power.
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — January 4, 2008 @ 2:32 pm
WWW, would you be kind enough to post the “rules” on how to play the political game so that we may all understand the different levels of political experience. Are the federal rules different from the state rules?
Comment by Kahuna — January 4, 2008 @ 1:54 pm
Re: “Just what we need” # 295, How do you know John Martin has zero political experience? I would think that an officer in the Army for 23 years has learned a great deal about politics at many different levels. I would think a person who worked with the Pentagon staff would have some political experience on that level. A person who worked with foreign governments would have some political experience on that level. Certainly one who has worked for the federal government for over 30 years has been exposed to the political system at some level and thus learned something from it. Both the positive as well as the negative aspects.
Has anyone been to the V.A. hospital recently? John Martin has been to both the Tuskeegee hospital and the Montgomery hospital for checkups. He did his chemo therapy for colon cancer at a V.A. hospital. Is there a better representative in congress for veterans and V.A. funding than someone who has been a patient?
Comment by Kahuna — January 4, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Thanks, Wm. I’m still having to lay low so my lupus doesn’t flare, but you know I can’t just sit on my hands ALL the time. It’s just not in my nature to sit quiet. Probably why I got in trouble so much in high school…except in debate and public speaking classes, of course. LOL!
Comment by MH — January 4, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
Mh, welcome back.
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — January 4, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
MH,
I would agree that the person that the people of the 2nd select should represent the populous as a whole. I believe though that any candidate that aligns themselves too far in either direction greatly diminishes their chances and further reduces their effectiveness should they get elected. The ideal candidate should be moderate but passionate about representing the 2nd.
Comment by Scott Ninesling — January 4, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
The people of this district are, by and large, conservative. Voting in someone who is a Democrat, and is therefor more likely to be liberal, makes no sense. We would end up putting someone in there to represent us who does not represent the views of the majority of the voters. What good does it do to get legislation passed if it is legislation we are opposed to?
In other words, if you are opposed to gay marriage and abortion, why would you elect someone whose party stance is pro abortion and pro gay marriage…and who would help pass legislation to make that happen?
That just seems like fuzzy logic to me.
Comment by MH — January 4, 2008 @ 11:56 am
By the way has no one heard Bobby Bright trying to get his anti-illegal immigrant position out there? He tried to take on the City Council to put in a stipulation that business licenses could be revoked for employing illegal immigrants.
Well I can think of someone who is from the district, lives in the district, and cares about the district. He also knows how to play the “game” instead of getting played by the game. He will take a common sense approach to addressing the needs of the district. That common sense approach will include his ability to play the political game. I think you know who I mean.
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — January 4, 2008 @ 10:21 am
Nobody running for this office has any experience in congress, but it is almost certain that the Republicans will be in the minority in DC. And it is a fact that the minority party in the House of Reps has no power to get anything. If the 2nd CD voters want a rep who can hep them, they need to elect a Dem. So back to Scott’s question. Will BB run as a Dem and have a shot or will he step into the shark infested waters of the GOP primary and chewed up and spit out.
Comment by Steph — January 4, 2008 @ 9:31 am
WWW,
I am suggesting that the 2nd select someone that lives in the district, from the district, and cares about the people of the district. I am suggesting that the people are tired of the “games” in politics (Goat Hill and Capitol Hill)and its time to send someone that takes a common sense approach to addressing the needs of the 2nd. Game is over…time for work.
Comment by Scott Ninesling — January 4, 2008 @ 9:13 am
Scott,
Are you suggesting that we send someone that has no idea how to play the political game such as Martin or even better a Wisconsin transplant that has lived in the state for a mere 3 years (but claims wiregrass ties for over 75 years by marriage)? That would be great for the second district, we wouldn’t get crap, actually we would get crap and nothing of substance.
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — January 4, 2008 @ 9:03 am