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
|
Share This
If Harri Anne’s big financial backers thought she would promise not to work for any earmarks (as Club for Growth advocates) I wonder what they would think? I know what they would say. But oh wait - Harri Anne is great at changing her mind on things with a little pressure!!!
Comment by GOPer — April 25, 2008 @ 9:40 am
“And then there is the endorsement of SMith by Club for Growth. This is a Wshington-based group that is very vocal and very opposed to raisinig taxes on an electorate that is already grossly overtaxed. All of the candidates courted this orgnization for their endorsement…and Club For Growth interviewed all the major players. They gave Smith their endorsement. Either that means tht they like what she had to say the best, or they see her as the candidate most likely to win. It is interesting that the Anti Smith Bloggers haven’t tried to find a negative spin for that one. In fact, they have been strangely silent on that particular topic.”
Hmmm…anyone bother to see what the Club for Growth REALLY advocates? Check out their website.
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/
They are big time into banning congressional earmarks. Wonder if Harri Anne has cut a deal with them NOT to advocate any local funding requests if elected? That ought to go over well back in the Wiregrass.
Comment by Concerned Citizen — April 25, 2008 @ 9:34 am
I agree that we need boots. And the comment that Smith researches and makes her decisions carefully??? How can MH even post that after the mess Smith made with the electronic bingo issue. After her ridiculous excuse and bailout on the only televised debate. And after her violation of FEC rules by paying for polling and consultants out of her state campaign account. No matter what screw up Smith does, MH wants us to believe it is some sort of public policy triumph. Get Real.
Comment by JohnJohn — April 25, 2008 @ 9:27 am
MH, we all need to put on some boots with the bull your are pouring all over this website. If you think Senator Smith is well known in the northern part of the district or much of anywhere outside of her three county senate district…you have a smaller grasp on reality than I actually thought you did. I cannot wait until the primary for all you Smith fanatics to see the breakdown of votes.
Comment by Getthebootsfolks! — April 25, 2008 @ 9:09 am
Exactly! I’m sure she will be running commercials closer to election day, but since she doesn’t have to build name recognition like the other candidates do, she doesn’t need to run as many commercials. In essence, although it cost something like 18K (if the folks on here are accurate)for that poll, it probably saved her a lot more money on TV air time.
It is like I have been trying to explain to the Anti Smith Campaign on here….Smith is very prudent. She tends to research things to the best of her ability before making a decision, rather than jumping in head first. Her detractors try to make it look like that is a bad thing…just as they try to twist her campaign funding out of context…but to me it shows that she puts a lot of thought and research into important decisions. Seems to me in Congress, that is a good thing. But, I guess when your candidate is running scared, the only thing you can do is to try to put as much negative spin on your competition as possible.
The one thing that all their hot air has shown me is that they have been afraid of her from the get go…and now they are truly desperate. You just can’t put a negative spin on Smith’s financial backing by the voters.
A gentleman friend of mine went to the Montgomery fund raiser, and looking at the host committe on the invitations he recieved for that event, I’d say she probably received more donations out of Montgomery than Love and Bright combined. Of course, we won’t know for sure till the next financial report comes out; however, if it is true, obviously, the intended slur about her strong arming Dothan businesses for donations doesn’t hold water. Or as my great grandfather would have said…”That dog won’t hunt!”
And then there is the endorsement of SMith by Club for Growth. This is a Wshington-based group that is very vocal and very opposed to raisinig taxes on an electorate that is already grossly overtaxed. All of the candidates courted this orgnization for their endorsement…and Club For Growth interviewed all the major players. They gave Smith their endorsement. Either that means tht they like what she had to say the best, or they see her as the candidate most likely to win. It is interesting that the Anti Smith Bloggers haven’t tried to find a negative spin for that one. In fact, they have been strangely silent on that particular topic.
http://harrianne2008.com/press_releases/040908_Club_for_Growth_Endorsement.php
Comment by MH — April 25, 2008 @ 5:33 am
MH, That makes sense! I had no idea she had such name recognition in the northern part of the district. So I guess it makes sense for her not to spend the money the other guys are.
Comment by Boundless Wisdom — April 24, 2008 @ 10:25 pm
The poll that Smith ran before she announcing her candidacy….the one some people like to deride so much…. showed that Smith has very good name recognition throughout the entire congressional district. Up until a week or so ago, people in the Dothan area were still asking, “Who is Schmidke?” and many people in Dothan have a vague idea that Jay Love and Bobby Bright are from Montgomery and are in politics…but that is about the extent of what they can tell you about those candidates.
Meanwhile, folks in the northern part of the district know who Smith is. Ergo, she doesn’t have to spend a lot of money getting name recognition…she already has it. The other candidates have been spending wads of cash trying to get name recognition, and yet people still aren’t sure who they are.
I’d say Smith was pretty smart to run that poll to find out how much name recognition she has. Polls may be expensive to run, but in some cases, they pay for themselves.
And as far as consultants, etc. The way I understand it, Love has Dax Swintek (sp?) on his payroll. Remember folks, when you point a finger at someone, you have four fingers pointing back at yourself.
Finally, Smith doesn’t have to twist arms to get donations. People donate to her campaign because they believe in her. Some posters would have us all believing that Smith’s only donations have come from Dothan and that she has tapped out on donors. I can’t wait for the next financial report to come out. I want to see all you naysayers eating crow.
Comment by MH — April 24, 2008 @ 8:38 pm
Good point “consider this”. Woods and Scmidtke have spent lots of cash on ads and still can put in plenty of money to keep it going. Smith raised a lot, but has yet to buy ads and her money does in fact seem to be being spent on polls and consultants that have not exactly worked out well for her thus far… so will she pump another 250,000 into her campaign? I doubt it like others on here do.
Comment by Jboner — April 24, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
It sure would be nice to take a peek at each of the candidates present funding. Love, Woods, and Schmidtke loaned money to their campaigns. But did they buy enough face time to attract supporters? Smith raised a large amount at her initial fundraiser, but after her poor performance at her press conference, followed closely by two poor performances at forums, can she hope to raise any more money?
Comment by Consider This — April 24, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
Dear FACTS in post 729, since you put up a challenge and have spoken so highly of your facts and dare anyone to prove them wrong because you have checked them, I point you to:
FACT: 4)Harri Anne Smith has NOT spent a dime of any money other than that CONTRIBUTED by ACTUAL DONORS - and still has over $100,000 left over (source: FEC reports)
Check the FEC report sweetheart. She had to pay 18,000 plus of her own money because she violated FEC rules and tried to pay for a poll and consultant fees for her Congressional race out of her state senate campaign account. It is amzing how fatcs are stubborn things. So maybe you check yours.
And all these blow hards, including you MH, that act as if a candidate that puts in how own money is someone that you should write off need to ask any political consultant or fundraiser out there…they all worry about someone with the ability to self finance because you can lose ground quickly against them just as many believe Harri Anne will do unless she adds to her own coffers.
Comment by GOPer — April 24, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
“People use their own money when they cannot raise money - because they lack support. That is a very old, tried-and-true poltical truism”
Let’s be clear on one thing. You can win with your own money. Terry Everett proved that in 1992 when he used $1 million of his own money to defeat Larry Dixon and George Wallace, Jr (both incumbent politicians). Smith has shaken down most of her Wiregrass state senate base for contributions. Many have a vested interest in appeasing her since either way they will have to deal with her in the future. Hard to say no.
Comment by Concerned Citizen — April 24, 2008 @ 4:54 pm
Facts seem to be in short supply on this thread. And quite frankly - and provably - facts seem to disappear completely when supporters of Jay Love are posting (GOPer and BBB).
So let’s review.
FACT: 1) Harri Anne Smith has raised more money from ACTUAL CONTRIBUTORS than ALL OTHER CANDIDATES COMBINED in this race (source: FEC reports)
FACT: 2) Harri Anne Smith has spent LESS money that LOVE, SCHMIDTKE, and WOODS (source: FEC reports)
FACT: 3) LOVE, SCHMIDTKE, and WOODS are all spending THEIR OWN MONEY IN THIS CAMPAIGN AS THEY HAVE NOT RAISED ENOUGH FROM DONORS TO PAY CAMPAIGN EXPENSES (source: FEC REPORTS)
FACT: 4)Harri Anne Smith has NOT spent a dime of any money other than that CONTRIBUTED by ACTUAL DONORS - and still has over $100,000 left over (source: FEC reports)
I challenge anyone on this board to dispute a single one of these facts. I CHALLENGE YOU TO TELL ME A SINLE MISSTATEMENT IN THIS POST.
You cannot because I checked every one.
Facts are stubborn things, That is why BBB, GOPer and their aliases don’t like dealiong in them.
Comment by Facts — April 24, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
GOPer - of all the bizarre comments I have heard on this board, that one is the strangest.
You seem to indicate that only people who go into perosnal debt can win congreesional races.
Enlighten me. How much personal money did Mike Rogers put into his campaign? How about Richard Shelby? Jeff Sessions?
People use their own money when they cannot raise money - because they lack support. That is a very old, tried-and-true poltical truism.
Your post is strange.
Comment by Crazy Train — April 24, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
GOPer did you say that people have to contribute to their own campaigns????? Did you just say what I thought you said????
GOPer you have zero credibility. None. You are on here claiming that healthy campaigns contribute hundreds of thousands of dollare to themselves while they can only raise a fraction of that.
Garbage.
I will never ever take anything you say on this board seriously. Ever.
Comment by OMG — April 24, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Hillary, you will never get it through the head of Smith’s kool aid drinkers that she is going to have a cash problem unless she contributes to her own campaign. Give it up…even though it is indeed reality.
Comment by GOPer — April 24, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
#724, that is the single dumbest post I have ever read on this board. Amd that is saying a lot . . .
You noted that less than half of the DONATIONS (yes, Harri Anne has CONTRIBUTORS - unlike your candidate) have been spent.
Thus all the stuff oyu have been spouting for the last several posts are - by your own admission - lies.
Be gone. Now. You are past tiresome.
Comment by For 724 — April 24, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
raised 268,774 spent 129,526 and is not even on TV yet with ads. consultant and constant polling fees are a real bi*%$ to pay for i guess - and those fees are paid every month folks. smith will not raise any more significant money and she is writing big checks to claire austin, swinehart, v. kennedy and campbell monthly. with money feeders like that, who has cash to actually pay for TV exposure. oh wait - she did have a press event…. i guess this is what all those consultants and pollsters get you. enjoy the show guys!
http://www.mydothan.com/Bingo/041408HASbingoBillStopped.wmv
Comment by HillaryAnneSmith — April 24, 2008 @ 2:45 pm
Does anyone know if it is true that David Grimes already has an announced opponent for the next election?
Comment by Grimes2010 — April 24, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
I want to follow up with post 720. The statement that she (Smith) is “spending all that she has raised . . .fast” is very simply not true. There is certainly not one shred of evidence to support that statement, and a boatload of evidence (hello . . .FEC reports) to contradict it.
Do you think, poster 720, that no one will notice when you make preposterous statements?
Your posts have no truth in them.
A frank, honest discussion of issues is always welcome anywhere. But this is just strange.
Comment by Anonymous — April 24, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
For 720. No no no . . .
She is not “spending all she has raised.” She has - and this is in black and white and on her disclosure forms - spent less than half of what donors have contributed.
That is a fact.
When you make statements in direct contradiction of actual facts you destroy your credibility.
Here’s a hint: stop trying to say that the only candidate in this race with sizable contributions - and the only one who is NOT spending her own money - is somehow the one that has money problems.
Your argument is asinine.
Comment by For post 720 — April 24, 2008 @ 12:38 pm