On the Senate District 32 GOP Primary
I would very much be interested in the factors that allowed Trip Pittman to overcome the considerable advantages that his opponent Randy McKinney had in the Senate District 32 Republican primary.
Randy McKinney had
- Six years experience representing the area on the state Board of Education
- Great name recognition
- The endorsement of our popular Governor Bob Riley
- The endorsement of The Press-Register
- Alfa’s endorsement
- BCA’s support
- Front-runner status, leading all five candidates in the first election
- Great press that could not have been more timely from the school board dealing with the two year college issue
- Money advantage
Is there any advantage that you could want going into a race like this that McKinney did not have? This strikes me as the model that could be held up as an example to give hope to political underdogs.
The connection with Alfa may not have been a positive one as coastal areas like Baldwin County do not consider insurance companies fondly since Katrina.
The vote was not a referendum on Riley as governor nor do I consider this a setback for Riley, but a lot of people have expressed surprise to me that Riley endorsed a candidate who did not win.
All in all, really interesting…
I outlined this post when I was out last night and heard that Pittman won. Since then, I see that Dan at Daily Dixie has made many of the same points.
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Talking to some AEA types, they seem smugly satisfied with McKinney’s defeat. I get the sense they feel they had a hand in fomenting an anti-McKinney feeling amongst voters, especially in the perception that he would be big insurance’s boy.
I did not get the sense that they helped Pittman directly (how could they, when he isn’t taking PAC money?), but might have mobilized an anti-McKinney bloc of voters.
Huge blow to the Gov and his uppity allies who trumpet double dipping at every turn, and then hand out contracts to companies aligned with allies, and use the Gov’s children as firewalls for anyone wishing to do business with the state.
Comment by Anonymous — September 12, 2007 @ 9:55 am
Who rob… never….
Comment by Anonymous — September 12, 2007 @ 10:02 am
Do you KNOW of any examples of “firewalls” and his children’s invovlement or do you just use the
Zeb Little talking points?
Comment by Anonymous — September 12, 2007 @ 10:04 am
I would suspect that McKinney’s promise to make us all “pay our fair share” for insurance had something to do with the backlash. It’s easy to make political hay out of attacking the AEA, but it’s probably not too smart to do so by attacking teacher’s pocket books. Remember, we all have families, and many teachers husbands work in other lines of work and depend on us for health insurance and the like.
GO TRIPP GO!!
Comment by BaldwinGOPTeacher — September 12, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Anon 3 — of course he doesn’t have any examples or proof. That’s what these Democrats like Zeb Little do. Make a charge and then don’t respond when asked, “Where’s the proof?” They just hide for a while, then come back out and make the same ridiculous charge.
Comment by Anonymous — September 12, 2007 @ 10:56 am
Thank God Republicans never make unsubstantiated charges! Or make anonymous comments.
Comment by Roy — September 12, 2007 @ 11:00 am
What is the upside of exposure? Bribery charges? Ask Scrushy if he is glad his crooked dealings with Siegelman came to light.
Comment by Anonymous — September 12, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Great minds, Danny.
Comment by Dan — September 12, 2007 @ 11:37 am
I live on the Tennessee/Alabama state line so I know very little about this race. But I would venture to guess that Pittmans plane crash probably had a role in him winning. Voters like a candidate whose been through trying times and Pittman fit that role and they have a dislike for insiders in both parties and by all accounts McKinney is a GOP insider. Thats just my two cents.
Comment by dan — September 12, 2007 @ 11:53 am
On a side note….. Danny, why the Purple border in the address bar…. wouldn’t blue seem less telli-tubby?
Comment by Disco Stu — September 12, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
Interesting comments, all…
Stu, are you talking about the white ‘P’ with gold in the middle and surrounded by purple that some users see in the address bar right before the “http://www.politicalparlor.net?” (Is that gold? Or greenish gold?)
Those colors were chosen because they are the same colors used on the website (for example in the header and the “Posts from the Legislature” box in the right sidebar). I think the colors were a bit more prominent in the old design of the website.
And fwiw, not all users see the ‘P’ in the address bar. I don’t think Internet Explorer shows it (I know some versions don’t), but if they bookmark the site, I think it shows up in their bookmarks.
Comment by Danny — September 12, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
What you couldn’t see statewide…
1) Pittman lives on the Eastern Shore (Fairhope-Daphne-Spanish Fort) which is the most
populous area of the county. McKinney lives by the beach. This election was all about who
could win support in Fairhope and in central areas of the county, where the first primary
losers were strongest. Pittman closed the deal. He ran a better campaign, and was perceived
to have momentum, having come from nowhere to finish second in the first primary.
2) There’s a scandal over how properties are appraised that’s roiling Baldwin politics right
now. Some of the fallout is landing on Riley because of the change to annual appraisals,
although in reality, the root of what’s wrong with Baldwin’s property tax system is in the
appraisal methods, not how often property is appraised. But Riley’s endorsement may have hurt
McKinney more than it helped.
3) Pittman comes off as much more gregarious and likeable. McKinney is cautious and sort of
reserved out in public.
4) There is some latent environmentalist, or at least anti-development sentiment among
a surprisingly large number of Baldwin GOP voters. McKinney was seen as the willing tool of
the tourism-industrial machine that’s created a condo canyon on the beach. The county’s just
growing too fast for the taste of many people, especially longtime residents. They’re
conservative, but small-c, hate-change conservative.
5) And yes, I’m sure AEA was poisoning whatever wells it could find against McKinney. Lest
you forget, AEA does dabble in Republican politics, especially in solidly Republican areas.
Comment by jamy — September 12, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Makes sense now that i’ve seen the old layout, Disco Stu likes…
Comment by Disco Stu — September 12, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
Sometimes I wished I had as much room as you do on this layout. But I’m not going to redesign for the fourth time just yet.
Comment by Dan — September 12, 2007 @ 4:35 pm
If the voters of District 32 want change they would be smart to vote Democratic in this race. Even though Pittman was not backed by Riley in the runoff, he would be embraced with open arms by the obstructionist Riley-coalition in the Senate.
Open your eyes folks! The Republicans run Baldwin County today and look at their record: massive tax increases, environmental degradation, un-regulated growth, insurance rates through the roof, etc. If you want more of the same then vote the same, but if you want change, vote for AJ COOPER October 16th.
http://www.coopersenate32.com
Comment by jesse — September 12, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
Baldwin County is a pretty Democratic area, Jesse. After all, Don Siegelman claimed he carried the county back in 2002 before the Republicans stole his votes there…right after monkeys flew out of my butt.
Comment by Inmate #24775-0001 — September 12, 2007 @ 7:58 pm
I would disagree with Danny and say that this is a setback for Riley.
Comment by JoJo — September 12, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
I don’t think you can read much into this election. With an 18% voter turnout, there isn’t much you can say other than most people didn’t care who was elected. Therefore, this result isn’t anti-Riley, anti-BCA, or anti-Alfa.
Comment by truth seeker — September 12, 2007 @ 8:31 pm
The Governor was in this race up to his eyeballs.
I too disagree about this being a reflection on him.
If he is a popular as he thinks he is, and is the most
popular Republican in Alabama as he thinks he is, and
the money his supporters spent, his campaign team organized the
McKinney campaign, His innner circle of Hubbard, Swatex, Canary,and
Assbell advising the Gov and McKinney on strategy, Riley
doing everything but going door to door for his candidate and
his candidate got an genuine tail whipping, how can it not say
something about Gov. Bob?? It is reported that the Guv is furious
with Hubbard and company for making him look bad.. I personally
think it’s hilarious.
Comment by non-expert — September 12, 2007 @ 10:29 pm
Truth seeker,
18% is actually pretty respectable turnout for a special election. Most people just don’t track on a single race for state legislature, so getting your supporters to the polls is the whole enchilada in these elections. Pittman obviously motivated his voters to turn out.
Comment by mooncat — September 13, 2007 @ 12:11 am
Jamy is right on: It’s simply demographics… A good candidate from the Eastern shore equally financed wins every single time.
If one were to sniff around on the ground in Baldwin County they would find:
1. Pittman and company outworked the McKinney camp.
2. Chris Brown clearly did a better job than Swatex. Maybe Chris will share voter turnout secrets for a SPECIAL ELECTION.
3. There may have been some backlash to the gov’s involvement.
Again, eliminate 1,2 &3 and Pittman still wins. The eastern shore owns the Baldwin County senate seat.
Comment by Steph — September 13, 2007 @ 7:22 am
[…] Good and illuminating comments here about the Senate District 32 GOP Primary. One in particular caught my eye, “It is reported that the Guv is furious with Hubbard and company for making him look bad” (for endorsing Randy McKinney who lost the primary to Trip Pittman). […]
Pingback by Governor “Hit the Roof” » Doc’s Political Parlor — September 13, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
One thing overlooked in the comments here is that McKinney never had a chance at pulling the support of the Bishop and Lipscomb voters. They were all supportive of Trip and Trip actively courted them after the Aug 7 election.
Comment by Tom — September 14, 2007 @ 4:17 pm