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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MH, do you work for Harri Anne? Has she promised you a job on her congressional staff? You are naive about the new politics of the 2000s. Additionally, Smith did vote against Amendment 1. Good for her.
Kudos, smart move on her part. Yet, are we going to give her the keys to the 2nd congressional office in DC simply because she was against something.
How about proposing solutions for how we deal with some of the tough issues - financial ones included. What is her biggest accomplishment since she has been in the Senate? I frankly don’t know of anything significant she has done. If you know of something please post it. If you every paid attention to the inner workings of the state senate you will notice Harri Anne is NOT a major player in the senate minority group. Harri Anne does not even return most calls to
her district members who call on her. Smith should follow the path of Baxley, Ivey, and Chapman. Go statewide and win (which she can) and then build a case for higher office. This talk about Harri Anne for Governor, Senator, or Congressman is a flat joke. An absolute waste of all our time. If she
were to be elected our strong military presence would be challenged. What little bit of agriculture influence we still have in Congress would be gone.
Comment by Anonymous — October 7, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
I noticed Jimmy Holley has been moved to the Serious column for democrats. He might very well enter the race as he has always wanted to be a member of Congress. He will not however run as a democrat. Holley has major issues with both the republican leaders and the democrat leaders. All Holley would
do if he joined the field as a democrat is ensure no democrat or no moderate repub wins the district. Think about it, that might be a strategy
being exercised by some influential folks who have influence over Holley. Although once very close Holley and AEA are crossed up. No way Hubbert would
put his member’s money on Holley vs the likely democratic field. On the other hand Governor Riley and the repubs tried to get Holley defeated this
past election even though he was a rather firm commitment to the Senate members counter to Lowell Barron. Holley is not a lifer GOP and further he is not a GOP who can be controlled by the new noobies in the GOP. No one and I repeat no one tells Holley how to vote. Thus the problem of getting the party money to win. Holley can win without the party(ies) leadership in his district but not on the grander scale of the 2nd.
Comment by Anonymous — October 7, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
As a voter I want a person like Harri Anne who votes the way I would, on issues that impact the whole state. Harri Anne was the only Rep. that voted against Amendment 1, and by the way her area voted over 70% against that issue. Isn’t that what a true ‘representative’ should do–represent the mindset of the area? When you talk about being tough, I would think it was tough for Harri Anne to stand up against the governor, and fellow Rep. like Mike Hubbard when she wouldn’t go along with the crowd. I think she has proven she has gumption and will stand up to anyone to represent her people. That is the type of leadership we need.
Nailen led the fight as Chairman for BCA for Amendment one. He has already proven he is a puppet. I can see it now if he runs with Canary pulling his strings. I also can’t see this district support a candidate like Nailen who led the charge for the largest tax increase in the history of Alabama. We need someone who is in touch with the people of Alabama. He is in touch with Bill Canary. I just think that Smith is the only one who has stood up and is NOT part of the usual Montgomery crowd. She cannot be controlled. THAT is what I like about her. THAT is what we need in Washington representing SE Alabama.
As for Ft. Rucker and Maxwell, she and her husband both are very active in supporting our military. Has Nailen or Love ever served our country in any line or branch of the Military??? Harri Anne’s husband is in the Alabama National Guard. Seems the Smith family would know more about military sacrifice than the other candidates.
There is more to Harri Anne than people know. I like the fact she is quiet and works behind the scenes. She is not in it for the accolades; rather, she is in politics to better her home and ours. A lot of people can talk the talk, but I want someone who walks the walk. Her votes have always been in line with the Wiregrasses thinking. As for what she has done in the district…..Plenty!!!!
You know, people with no political experience often try to use the ‘ineffective’ card. Typical smoke and mirrors when you have no track record to stand on….just smoke and mirrors trying to draw our attention away from the fact that Nailen hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Sorry…that dog won’t hunt in the Wiregrass.
Comment by MH — October 7, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
Preach on NOT BUYING IT…that is the best and most true to facts post I have seen so far. Hawkins is out - Love and Smith would be over their heads in Congress and Nailen seems the strongest from the Wiregrass thus far. Believe me, Love and Smith will not have this locked up before qualifying begins - far from it. They don’t control self financed well respected candidates like Nailen and James for example. If Love and Smith want to help the party - they will stay where they are and hold tight in the State legislature.
Comment by Jase — October 7, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
“Not Buying It” take a chill pill. Let people support whoever they support. To call anyone a Kool-Aid drinker for supporting a candidate is ludicrous, at least they’ve found someone they really believe in (which is increasingly rare.)
The behind the scenes maneuvering is a game in and of itself and everybody’s playing for a lot of different reasons - most of which have nothing to do with the best interest of the average Alabamian. That’s the sad part.
Canary’s chickens may finally come home to roost and he may not be the force he was in the past. But everyone knows not to count him out either; it will be interesting to see how long BCA sticks with him.
As to all candidates - the more the merrier. Candidates will come and they will go. You are a bit confused it seems, you say Smith sits around waiting for marching orders from Hubbard and then say the state party can’t control her. Which is it?
Since I have a wild independent streak, I take a hankering to politicians who don’t like being “controlled,” there are very few of them. The race will sort itself out, it’s just a political fact that Smith is a force if she decides to run. That does not mean that others will not emerge, be strong or a force to be reckoned with themselves.
Unfortunately there are a lot of people who deem themselves kingmakers that believe all’s a done deal - it’s up to the voters to either think for themselves or be sheeple, led by a nose ring. Unfortunately, all too often, the voters let themselves be pulled right along to the slaughter house. I may be naive, but I have faith at least some voters will put their thinking caps on - even if i don’t agree with the way they think.
Comment by political_observer — October 7, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
Swatek is not “hooking up” to represent Love.
Comment by Anonymous — October 7, 2007 @ 11:28 am
The Love and Harri Anne Smith faithful are hard at work attempting to close the deal on the GOP nomination long before qualifying. Have any of you
cheerleading for these two looked at what they have done in the Alabama Legislature. They have not done anything notable but be against stuff which
is really easy to do. Before you start throwing the usual reply of the GOP does not control the legislature don’t. There have been many effective
republicans in the Alabama House and Senate who have found ways to get things done with a Democratic Majority. These two have not had a creative
idea since they have been in the legislature. They show up make a few votes, complain about the reason they are lazy is because they can’t make a
difference with the democrats in the majority, and then they wait to see what Mike Hubbard wants them to say and send out to their district. Love or
Smith would get eaten alive in DC. Everyone better remember we have a lot of things in the district like Maxwell, Ft. Rucker, Lockheed Martin, etc.
that have remainded in the district because we have been able to elect people like Everett who although a “behind the scenes” type guy played hardball when it came to protecting the 2nd: granted Shelby has been the key to the Everett/Shelby one-two punch in that regard. Smith and Love are out of
their league. Hawkins will not run. His ego is too big to simply be elected a mere congressman. Nailen has plenty of money and can finance a large
part of his costs similar to the way Everett did when the GOP bosses first shunned him. Nailen is also big buds with Canary which makes it difficult
for Canary to turn his back to him even though the GOP bosses like Hubbard want a candidate they control (thus the Jay Love connection) Hubbard knows the state party can’t control Harri Anne which is why Dax Swatek is hooking up to represent Love. This thing is a long way from over. You Harri Anne
and Love Kool Aid drinkers need to reassess. You’d be much better off using your time to do something meaningful for Harri Anne and Love if you quit
wasting your time blogging and telling everyone how great they are. Seems like someone has you guys doing some aggressive promotion of these two.
Comment by Not Buying It — October 7, 2007 @ 8:53 am
A chief of staff is known to the people of the district when he comes back and is involved in the community. He was out there getting his name and face in the paper and on the news so that he could take over the office. He had the name recognition for the average voters.
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — October 6, 2007 @ 10:53 pm
The whole River Region? What is that? Take a look at AL Cong. District 2, no where do people refer to it as the River Region. So I am not sure where he is popular in terms of the Wirgrass or in the areas of Butler, Conecuh, etc. I am sure his popularity is limited to MGM and possibly Autauga and Elmore. But as with many of these candidates, they only have a pockett of name recognition in specific areas. In terms of Riley favoring Love - go back to the drawing board on that one. He knows many of the potential candidates both those in the house/senate and those not in office including James and Nailen. Nailen specifically hosted a fundraiser at his home for Riley when VP Cheney was in town. Riley will stay somewhat nuetral.
But to say AEA isn’t supportive of Love…think again.
Comment by Jason — October 6, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
Love is extremmely popular not only in his district but in the whole River Region. Hubbert has him on his hit list as he has sponsored
the cut in income tax bills that have been before the Legislature the last two years. The Democrat smear campaign has already started.
Comment by BB — October 6, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
Let’s be real, this job is over the head of many of these ego filled candidates. Especially the ones that float their name for any race that comes along. You have to want this job to be good at it and want it for the RIGHT REASONS. I am looking for the non typical politician and there are only a few of those so far. Jack Hawkins, Tim James, Charles Nailen. Hawkins may target state wide office so that leaves James and Nailen. Look for either or both to make a solid run and mix it up with the typical politicians out there.
Comment by Boxer — October 6, 2007 @ 6:06 pm
Smith is popular in the district but look for Charles Nailen to have a voice in what goes on in the Wiregrass as well. In terms of Love he is in bed with Paul Hubbert. Hopefully Governor Riley will stay out of the mix on this one until the Republican candidate is chosen.
Comment by Anonymous — October 6, 2007 @ 6:03 pm
I work with the Legislature and the impression among those work in and around the Legislature is that it will be a close race between Harri Anne Smith and Jay Love. I live in Montgomery so I saw Love beat a 24 year incumbent in the primary by campaigning like someone I have never seen. I don’t know how Smith is viewed in her district. By the way they are both two of the nicest people you will ever meet.
Comment by TideGirl — October 6, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
Danny, You will want to check but I heard through the grapevine Jack Hawkins is NOT running. Love may have been given the kiss of death if it’s true Hubbard and Riley are backing that horse, worked with Randy McKinney didn’t it? Also, Love trapsing off to Washington acting like heir apparent will backfire. Several are mulling options, after all it is football season - only the political junkies are really paying attention right now. If Harri Anne Smith runs, she will win.
Comment by political_observer — October 6, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Saw this morning’s Dothan Eagle has Smith as ’strongly considering’ running. YES!
Comment by MH — October 6, 2007 @ 8:08 am
I still don’t see any of these potential candidates beating Smith in her own district or its surrounding areas. For two years I’ve heard people from outside her district say they would vote for her in any election in which they COULD vote for her. These have not been just ocassional comments, but frequent comments. I hear voters from outside her district say, “We wouldn’t have such and such a problem if Harri Anne represented us.” Joe Voter and Jane Voter LIKE Smith and they want her to represent them. And when it comes down to it, it is Joe and Jane Voter who will be making the decisions in the voting booth.
Comment by MH — October 5, 2007 @ 9:50 pm
If you think a Chief of Staff is known to the average voter you are wrong.
Comment by Anonymous — October 5, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Nailen is a businessman from Dothan. Self-starter. He and his wife built a successful business in the tri-state area.
Comment by Anonymous — October 5, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
Actually Bonner was known, he was Sonny’s chief of staff and he operated out of mobile. Who is nailen?
Comment by William Wyatt Wallace — October 5, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
Nailen is connected but not known by the average voter. Hello? Can someone say Bob Riley when he first ran for Congress? Jo Bonner when he first ran for Congress? Terry Everett when he first ran for Congress? Best I recall, they all three won. All un known to the average voter but well connected and good candidates. Nailen is no different…someone to watch and is gaining support.
As for Spicer of the dem side - only his ego must be driving that perception.
Comment by Anonymous — October 4, 2007 @ 10:27 pm