Posted by Updated 12:07 pm, July 13
Political insiders are watching the competition behind the race for SD 32, one GOP legislator explained to me. Because the special election is the only race around at the moment, resources and energy are available that more often are spread among many campaigns in a typical election season.
There is no real drama between the parties since the seat will undoubtedly remain in Republican hands. However, insiders are paying attention to the behind-the-scenes drama about how the various heavyweights of the political consulting field are lining up behind the candidates.
Candidate – Consultant
David Ed Bishop – Strategy Inc.
Randy McKinney – Dax Swatek
Trip Pittman – Southern Insights
Don McGriff – Matrix Group Stacey & Associates
Albert Lipscomb – ?
Strategy Inc. is Jonathan Gray’s group out of Mobile and may have some home field advantages. Gray was heavily invested in the last Mobile mayor’s race – literally. He was one of 14 supporters of John Peavy’s losing Mobile mayoral campaign (against Sam Jones) who got stuck paying back a $140,000 campaign loan ($10,000 each plus interest). Also, fwiw, Mobile Bay Times quoted him as saying that he was involved with a Republican presidential candidate, but couldn’t say who.
Dax Swatek will have a little more time for the race after the faltering John McCain campaign cut back on Alabama staff and let him go. Swatek was campaign manager for Gov. Bob Riley’s 2006 campaign.
Chris Brown of Southern Insights is working with Trip Pittman. Clients have included state Senator Scott Beason (R – Gardendale) and former representative Jim Carns who was victorious over incumbent Gary White in a particularly brutal race for Jefferson County Commissioner (“one of the most contentious county races in many years” – B’ham News, June 5, 2006).
One legislator told me early that the Matrix Group was working with Don McGriff, but later backed off the statement a bit as he had not heard anything more about that. Another source since confirmed that Matrix is indeed working with McGriff. [Update: McGriff is working with Stacey & Associates out of Mobile. See note below this paragraph.] Matrix has a penchant for secrecy (they are “the closest thing Alabama politics has to a non-governmental secret agency”), so their low profile is no suprise. Matrix is a heavyweight in the business whose clients in the last election cycle included Senators Gerald Dial (D – Lineville), Jimmy Holley (D – Elba), E. B. McClain (D – Midfield), and Jim Preuitt (D – Talladega). One source had told the Parlor last year that the Matrix Group was on retainer to help Sen. Preuitt and the dissident Democrats wrest control of the Senate from Sen. Lowell Barron (D – Fyffe) and the Democratic majority. (One early indicator that Sen. E. B. McClain was going to side with the Senate Republicans and dissident Democrats was this article that indicated Matrix ran his campaign.)
[Note: Don McGriff told me on the phone today (Friday, July 13) that Matrix was never working with his campaign and that he was working with Lynn Stacey of Stacey and Associates in Mobile. However, when McGriff was making the rounds of special interest groups in Montgomery to drum up support a month ago or so, he told folks then that Matrix would be running his campaign. He already had, he said, a relationship with Matrix founder Joe Perkins. The report in this article that Matrix and Don McGriff were working together on the campaign was based on what McGriff himself was telling people. The Political Parlor is happy to set the record straight.]
Just last month, the Matrix Group (Vote Yes) and Jonathan Gray (Vote No) found their services employed on opposite sides of a referendum in Baldwin County to create a joint, independent school district in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. (The measure was defeated “in a contentious clash.”)
A great consulting firm won’t make a winner out of every candidate; a great jockey won’t ride every horse into the winner’s circle. But the handler behind the talent can contribute to the competitor doing better (or worse) than expected and pull off the occasional upset victory. In this race for SD-32, political insiders and elected officials are watching the competition behind the race to see how the consultants handle the campaigns.
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There is also a Democratic candidate for this seat. He is A.J. Cooper, a lawyer in practice in Fairhope.
You might like to get in touch with him.
Why waste time calling the Democrat? It’s Baldwin County for gosh sakes!!!
Yes, A.J. Cooper is probably brighter than all the rest of the candidates.
I had the displeasure of being seated with Albert Lipscomb, which seemed like 10 hours, on a three hour bus trip to Montgomery. This man is close to being a moron. He begins every other sentence with “My daddy told me”. We don’t need any more peasants in the Capital.
Willie, many many Republicans will agree with you on that.
I believe Lipscomb is using Jack Campbell out of montogmery
Matrix is not representing Don McGriff.
Anonymous in Comment #6, thanks, I’ll check it out. Two sources have told me that they are working together, but I’ll find out what I can.
Folks heard McGriff himself say that Matrix would be running his campaign, and the report here was based on what came out of his own mouth. Today Mr. McGriff told me that he was working with Stacey & Associates. I have updated the post.
Thanks, anonymous commenter #6, for helping me to get this straight.
It will be a two man race between Randy and Pittman
Matrix is working for McGriff. He just knows it is the kiss of death in a Republican primary…
[...] SD 32: The Race Behind the Race [...]
David Ed Bishop has been gathering a lot of momentum in the past few days with his grassroots campaign and his advertising blitz on affordable insurance. The polls are showing him headed to a runoff with Albert Lipscomb.
Don’t believe the AEA propaganda…Bishop will not make the runoff…it will be McKinney and Pittman
I read the comments about A.j. Cooper. Laughable.! I know him. You have got to be kidding me. This guy is arrogant, borderline crazy and has got a huge chip on his shoulder. If he is “smarter than all of the others” as “Willie say”, you guys are in real trouble……He practices on the edge of the law, and seeks special favors simply because he is black and therefore somehow entitled.. (he honestly beleives that……do yourself a favor, stay away from this guy.
Help. It doesn’t sound like any of them understand and support Constitutional Reform. I was probably one of many who submitted the question to the Forum at the Civic Center.
[...] Speaking of the Matrix Group as we were last week (because Senate District 32 candidate Don McGriff had said recently the Matrix Group was running his campaign, and said since that the Matrix Group was never running his campaign. To tell the truth, I had a follow-up post on that but decided it just wasn’t that interesting.)… [...]
[...] Posted by Danny, on July 17th, 2007, at 8:52 am When I was gathering information for the post about the race behind the race among Republicans in Senate district 32, I picked up some interesting comments that didn’t [...]