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The Parlor is hearing from both sides of the aisle that state Sen. Tom Butler (D – Madison) was quite unhappy that Senate Minority Leader Jabo Waggoner (R – Vestavia Hills) was in front of the story about Butler’s potential party-switch and Congressional candidacy. One GOP insider told me at the time Waggoner’s remarks appeared in the newspaper that it was a mistake on Waggoner’s part to get ahead of the story. Another GOP’er told me yesterday, “Yeah, Butler did get ticked. It was because Jabo was going around the state house bragging that he got another party switcher, and Butler just wasn’t ready to make that commitment yet. Kind of blew up in Jabo’s face.”
Sen. Butler has since decided not to run for the 5th Congressional District, and we hear that Butler will not change parties at least until after the session. He has already been caucusing with the Senate Republicans, and since he is now not qualifying for the Congressional race as a Republican, there is no practical reason for the distraction of a switch in the middle of the session.
It’s difficult to imagine that a decision as big as whether to run for Congress would be undone by anger over this matter (though one version of the circulating story is that it was); more likely this unhappiness was a small stick added to the fire that was already evaporating the idea that he would announce a change of parties and run for Congress as a Republican.
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That should open up the door for a real democrat to run for Butler’s seat.
Any ideas on who that might be?
He didnt announce he’s retiring. Even when he does he leave it will be hard for the democrats to hold that seat with Madison and Limestone becoming more republican with each passing day.
Would you suppose that Butler went through this entire scene to make Republicans think that Butler is an ok guy, keeping the Democratic vote and gaining the Republican vote for re-election?
My friends in Huntsville say that this is the third time he has publicly talked about switching parties.
Look for former State Representative Angelo Mancuso or Huntsville attorney Cliff Hill to seriously consider getting in the race. Mancuso as a Republican and Hill as a Democrat. Republicans very uneasy about a successful candidate against the Democrats this fall
Deepthroat –
Are you sure that you don’t have that backwards? I can’t imagine Mancuso running as a Republican and Hill as a Democrat. The other way around…maybe.