 Posted by Danny, on October 28th, 2010, at 10:33 am  Thanks to political insiders on both sides of the aisle who have helped us reconsider the ratings on the state House races.
I’d like to expand on this a bit later, but for now let us simply get right to it with little comment.
Here is how the ratings have changed.
HD 1 from Toss Up to Lean Dem – Greg Burdine (D) v. Quinton Hanson (R) for the seat vacated by Tammy Irons (D)
HD 2 from Toss Up to Lean GOP – incumbent Mike Curtis (D) v. Lynn Greer (R)
HD 5 from Lean GOP to Likely GOP – incumbent Henry White (D) v. Dan Williams (R) with Independent Jerry Hill in the race also.
HD 7 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Jody Letson (D) v. Ken Johnson (R)
HD 8 from Toss Up to Lean GOP – Drama Breland (D) v. Terri Collins (R) for the seat vacated by Bill Dukes (D)
HD 9 from Lean GOP to Likely GOP – Kathy White Goodwin (D) v. Ed Henry (R) for the seat held by Ron Grantland (D)
HD 12 from Lean Dem to Toss Up – incumbent James Fields (D) v. Mac Buttram (R)
HD 13 from Likely Dem to Toss Up – incumbent Tommy Sherer (D) v. Bill Roberts (R)
HD 14 from Toss Up to Lean GOP – incumbent Ken Guin (D) v. Richard Baughn (R)
HD 16 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent William Thigpen (D) v. Daniel Boman (R)
HD 21 from Lean Dem to Toss Up – incumbent Randy Hinshaw (D) v. Jim Patterson (R)
HD 22 from Lean Dem to Toss Up – incumbent Butch Taylor (D) v. Wayne Johnson (R)
HD 24 from Likely GOP to Lean GOP – Nathaniel Ledbetter (D) v. incumbent Todd Greeson (R)
HD 27 from Lean Dem to Toss Up – incumbent Jeff McLaughlin (D) v. Wes Long (R)
HD 29 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Jack Page (D) v. Becky Nordgren (R)
HD 35 from Lean Dem to Toss Up – incumbent Steve Hurst (D) v. Steven Dean (R)
HD 37 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Richard Laird (D) v. Bob Fincher (R)
HD 39 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Richard Lindsey (D) v. Timothy Sprayberry (R)
HD 42 from Lean Dem to Lean GOP – incumbent Jimmy Martin (D) v. Kurt Wallace (R)
HD 61 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Alan Harper (D) v. Frank Chandler (R)
HD 62 from Likely GOP to Safe GOP – John Merrill (R) v. Constitution Party candidate Steven Kneussle. Dem candidate dropped out.
HD 63 from Lean GOP to Likely GOP – Susan Pace Hamill (D) v. Bill Poole (R) for the seat vacated by GOP gubernatorial candidate Robert Bentley.
HD 73 from Lean GOP to Toss Up – Joe Hubbard (D) v. incumbent David Grimes (R)
HD 80 from Safe Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Lesley Vance (D) v. Mervin Dudley (R)
HD 81 from Lean Dem to Lean GOP – incumbent Betty Carol Graham (D) v. Mark Tuggle (R)
HD 84 from Safe Dem to Likely Dem – Berry Forte (D) v. Joyce Perrin (R) for the seat vacated by Billy Beasley (D)
HD 86 from Lean GOP to Toss Up – Merritt Carothers (D) v. Paul Lee (R) for the seat vacated by Benjamin Lewis (R)
HD 90 from Likely Dem to Lean Dem – incumbent Charles Newton (D) v. Jerry Hartin (R)
HD 91 from Toss Up to Lean GOP – incumbent Terry Spicer (D) v. Barry Moore (R)
HD 92 from Lean GOP to Likely GOP – David Darby (D) v. Mike Jones (R) for the seat opened by the retirement of Seth Hammett (D)
HD 93 from Likely GOP to Safe GOP – Ronnie Helms (D) v. incumbent Steve Clouse (R)
With 105 seats in the House, 53 is a majority. If you look at the whole list and tally them up, you see 53 in the red (lean, likely or safe GOP), 43 in the blue (lean, likely, or safe Democrat), and 9 toss ups. There will be some surprises, but with this as our starting point there will have to be a lot of surprises in the Dems’ favor or we are looking at a GOP majority in the state House.
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Posted by Danny, on October 26th, 2010, at 9:55 am New from Democratic state Rep. Ken Guin in the House District 14 race:
A reader tells me the ad is on the air in the District.
Guin is challenged in the election by Republican Richard Baughn.
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Posted by Danny, on October 17th, 2010, at 6:28 pm Richard Baughn is airing this ad in House District 14 where he is challenging Democratic incumbent Ken Guin.
Looks like a wholesome family number in response to the negative spot Guin put up against Baughn.
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Posted by Danny, on October 15th, 2010, at 4:28 pm Folks on both sides of the aisle are talking about this ad from Democratic state Representative Ken Guin that features the wife of his opponent, Republican Richard Baughn.
Baughn is challenging Guin for the House District 14 seat.
Update: The original post incorrectly referred to Lisa Baughn as Richard Baughn’s ex-wife. They are not divorced and the post has been corrected.
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Posted by Brian, on October 14th, 2010, at 9:43 pm  The back of a new GOP mailer against Guin Two new ads in House District 14 are attacking Ken Guin, a Democrat and the House Majority Leader, for “Enjoying the perks of office – on our dime.”
The mailer is titled “All in a Day’s Work”. Inside the fold it features a picture of a large home and a Porsche, both “THAT YOU PAID FOR” the ad reads. The big hitter in the ad is a claim that Guin receives “as many as THREE different government paychecks that total more than $130,000 per year.”
The claim cites a 2007 article by The Birmingham News, “Lawmaker paid by 2 schools for the same work” that you can read in its entirety here. According to the Birmingham News piece, Guin received two salaries simultaneously from Shelton State Community College and Bevill State Community College totaling over $98,000 in addition to his legislative salary from the time of his hire in December 1999 to the time of the article’s publishing in March 2007.
While the article does not detail all of his responsibilities for the two schools, it says, “[Guin] often submitted the same work reports to both schools and made reference to his state legislative business in some work summaries.” It goes on to say that the reports were submitted monthly for at least his first year, but they became as infrequent as three in 2003 until he started to submit them monthly again in mid-2006.
The mailer was paid for by the Alabama Republican Party and can be viewed here (pdf).
A radio spot paid for by the 136 Years PAC also features the Birmingham News article in addition to pointing out, “Ken Guin voted himself a 62% legislative pay raise.”
Click play to hear it.
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Guin is running against Republican Richard G. Baughn in his quest for a fifth term in the house. Baughn is a political newcomer, and a UPS truck driver. Guin recently criticized Baughn for calling himself a “businessman” in a direct mail piece.
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Posted by Danny, on September 20th, 2010, at 3:03 pm In his most recent campaign ad, Democrat Ken Guin claims successes in his legislative tenure and suggests a reason for them.
Guin is facing a challenge from Republican Richard Braughn for the House District 14 seat.
Hat tip to The World Around You.
Posted by Danny, on September 13th, 2010, at 10:59 am House Majority Leader Ken Guin is on television with this spot on the immigration issue.
http://www.politicalparlor.net/docs/video/KenGuin IllegalImmigration Sept2010.flv
The Democrat faces a challenge in House District 14 from Republican Richard Baughn.
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Posted by Danny, on July 29th, 2010, at 5:59 pm  July’s REDMAP Political Report [.pdf] from the Republican State Leadership Committee contends that nationally in 2010 Republicans will pick up control of four legislative chambers, that Democrats will not pick up any, and that twelve chambers controlled by Democrats (including Alabama’s House and Senate) are “solidly in play.”
The report explains, “The REDistricting MAjority Project (REDMAP) is a program of the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) dedicated to winning Republican control of state legislatures that will have the most impact on Congressional redistricting in 2011.”
According to the report, three open state Senate seats in Alabama are in play, one held by a Republican and two held by Democrats. In addition, seven Democratic incumbents and two Republican incumbents hold seats are in play. The GOP needs to pick up a net of three Senate seats to control the chamber.
Let’s see… There are more than three open Senate seats, so they must be keying on SD 5 (being vacated by Republican Charles Bishop), SD 9 (Democrat Hinton Mitchem), and SD 13 (Democrat Kim Benefield) as the ones in play.
The two Republican Senate incumbents whose seats are in play must be Paul Sanford (SD 7) and Jim Preuitt (SD 11).
Now the seven Democratic incumbents whose Senate seats are in play… they must be Tom Butler (SD 2), Zeb Little (SD 4), Phil Poole (SD 21), Ted Little (SD 27), Wendell Mitchell (SD 30), and… hmm… a Republican familiar with the situation confirms that the last two are Lowell Barron (SD 8) and Larry Means (SD 10). Those two and Marc Keahey in SD 22 were the threesome I was trying to choose among for the last two spots.
On the state House side… The GOP needs to pick up a net of 8 seats. The Report offers that four open seats held by Democrats are in play in Alabama. They must mean four of these five: HD 8 (being vacated by Bill Dukes), HD 9 (Ron Grantland), HD 26 (Frank McDaniel), HD 85 (Locy Baker) and HD 92 (Seth Hammett). I suppose HD 85 is the one not being included.
The Report also contends that seats held by nine Democratic incumbents are in play. I suppose they mean Mike Curtis (HD 2), Henry White (HD 5), James Fields (HD 12), Ken Guin (HD 14), Jeff McLaughlin (HD 27), Jimmy Martin (HD 42), Lesley Vance (HD 80), Betty Carol Graham (HD 81), and Terry Spicer (HD 91).
No House seats held by Republican incumbents are indicated to be in play though I believe the argument could be made that David Grimes (HD 73) or possibly DuWayne Bridges (HD 38) are as vulnerable as, say, James Fields.
The full report is here in .pdf form. The website for the Republican State Leadership Committee is here.
If you would like to play along with the home version of the game, the 2010 House Elections Directory and Senate Elections Directory may be helpful though the ratings of the districts found there (lean Dem, likely GOP, etc.) are overdue for review.
Posted by Danny, on June 11th, 2010, at 12:32 pm Maybe we can get to some of these interesting tidbits out of the primary elections that so far haven’t found mention here. (I was travelling last week and a little slow climbing back into the saddle this week.)
 As interesting as any to me is that outgoing state Sen. Charles Bishop (R – Arley) was defeated in his attempt to claim the Republican nomination for House District 14. The Tuscaloosa News runs down Bishop’s noteworthy resume’, pointing out “he was elected to the Senate as a Republican in 2006, held the Senate seat for eight years as a Democrat in the 1980s, ran for governor twice and was elected agriculture commissioner in 1998.” Bishop was at one point said to be considering a run for governor this year.
According to the Tuscaloosa News, with this loss Bishop will step out of political life. “I get the message,” Bishop said. “It’s time for the old man to hang it up and enjoy retirement.”
Bishop will be remembered for his passion, most famously on display when he punched state Sen. Lowell Barron on the Senate floor in 2007. Prior to that incident, he had challenged one colleague to settle differences in the men’s room, challenged another state Senator to step outside before they were separated by security, and had missed with a swing at yet another state Senator on the Senate floor. Bishop was said to be motivated to enter the House race by personal animosity toward Democratic incumbent Ken Guin.
Newcomer Richard Baughn, a UPS truck driver, won the Republican nomination for House District 14 and will challenge Guin, the House Majority Leader for the last quadrennium.
 Sen. Charles Bishop punches Sen. Lowell Barron in 2007
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Posted by Danny, on April 13th, 2010, at 10:21 am The House Elections Directory is updated with ratings for the races.
Out of 105 races, 50 are rated as Safe, Likely or Lean on the Democratic side, and 49 are on the Republican side.
 Watch for upsets of course, but the race for 53 seats and control of the state House for the next quadrennium may turn largely on six seats (1, 2, 8, 14, 85, and 91).
- HD 1 is open as Rep. Tammy Irons (D) is running for the Senate. It wouldn’t take much to nudge this into the “lean Dem” category where some believe it belongs already.
- First term Democratic incumbent Mike Curtis is being challenged by former state Rep. Lynn Greer in HD 2.
- Democratic Rep. Bill Dukes announced his retirement in HD 8, and then reconsidered. He faces two Republican challengers. Without Dukes, this race probably is rated on the Republican side. With him, many Democrats feel very good about their chances.
- Two Republicans are vying to unseat House Majority Leader Ken Guin in HD 14, including state Sen. Charles Bishop who is making a bid to switch legislative houses.
- In HD 85, four Democrats and two Republicans compete for the seat being vacated by Democrat Locy ‘Sonny’ Baker who is running for Senate District 28.
- Republican challenger Barry Moore hopes the demographics of HD 91 will help him unseat Democratic incumbent Terry Spicer.
House District 5 is one to watch. First-term Democratic incumbent Henry White is getting a challenge from three Republicans and an independent. The demographics appear to be moving the district to the right, and Republicans are particularly excited to have popular Athens Mayor Dan Williams in the race who they believe is quite capable, or even likely, of claiming the seat for the GOP. Democrats note that White went through three tough races (primary, runoff, general) in 2006 when he won the seat and believe that he should not be underestimated. What factor will independent Jerry Hill, also from Athens, play? While partisans will make strong arguments that the rating should be moved to the right or to the left, the rating here for now is “Lean Republican.”
Here is a summary of how the races stack up.
| Alabama State House Races |
| Safe DEM |
Likely DEM |
Lean DEM |
Toss Up |
Lean GOP |
Likely GOP |
Safe GOP |
3
17
18
19
23
28
32
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
65
67
68
69
70
71
72
76
77
78
80
82
83
84
89
97
98
99
103 |
7
13
16
29
37
39
61
90 |
12
21
22
27
35
42
81 |
1
2
8
14
85
91 |
5
9
26
38
45
63
73
86
92 |
4
24
30
36
40
43
47
62
75
87
93 |
6
10
11
15
20
25
31
33
34
41
44
46
48
49
50
51
64
66
74
79
88
94
95
96
100
101
102
104
105 |
See the entire House Elections Directory here.
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Posted by Danny, on April 2nd, 2010, at 5:50 pm  State Sen. Charles Bishop has qualified to challenge Democratic House Majority Leader Ken Guin in House District 14. Bishop announced almost a year ago that he was hanging up the gloves and retiring from the state Senate. Last year he was at one point considering throwing his hat into the ring as a gubernatorial candidate.
Now he’s answering the bell for another round, this time for a House seat. (We had heard he might.) Why would Bishop step down from the Senate to run for the House? Most people would rather be in the Senate than the House, given a choice. “He hates Guin. He just hates him,” a Montgomery insider responds to the Parlor.
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