Were this measure to eventually become law, and assuming the governorship remains in Republican hands, a vacated U.S. Senate seat would become a de facto Republican seat.

Alabama would no longer have the option of going in another direction, as it did last December, by electing a Democrat, or third party candidate like Lee Busby.

Busby, the retired Marine Officer who challenged both Roy Moore and Doug Jones in the December special election, spoke with Yellowhammer News shortly after the special election in December.

“It was wild,” Busby said of the whole thing, especially regarding the support he received.

“I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came out to knock on doors.”

But that on-the-ground support was not what touched him most.

“I got notes from around Alabama [saying] that you’ve given me someone to vote for; notes from around the country; from around the world. A soldier in Afghanistan sent me a note saying thank you for what you’re doing.”

Busby said that in his view, the special election was a referendum on party politics. That’s what motivated Busby to run as an unknown, third-party candidate.

“There’s a Churchill quote,” he said, that goes something like, “’You can’t leave war up to the generals.’ I think it’s the same in politics. You can’t just leave it up to politicians to run the country.”

HB17 wouldn’t prevent non-partisan candidates like Busby from challenging the partisan landscape altogether because they could still run in general elections, but it would effectively prevent them from filling vacant seats.

What do you think? Do you think Alabama should be able to vote for its Senate replacement?