As the 100-day mark nears until Republicans go to the polls to select their preference on who will represent their party on the ticket in the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Alabama, Democrats already have their nominee with incumbent U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook).
Earlier this month, the state’s qualifying deadline passed without Jones drawing a primary opponent on the ballot. Meanwhile, Republicans added a familiar name to the mix with former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who held the seat Jones occupies for 20 years.
During an interview with Huntsville radio WVNN’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Jones did not have much to say about Sessions’ candidacy. However, he urged listeners to “get past labels,” adding that his agenda was not a “socialist agenda.”
“I think it’s going to be a very ugly and divisive primary [for the Republicans],” he said. “They’re already starting. You saw it the minute Jeff put his hat in the ring. We’re not going to worry about that just yet. We’re going to continue to do the things we’re doing. And again, I want people to get past labels and to look at my record, the full record. Don’t just listen to a soundbite on the radio, on TV or what they see on some website. What I want them to do is take a good look at where I am. What they’re going to find is with me, despite what you may hear from the other side – my agenda is not a socialist agenda. My agenda is not a leftist agenda. It is anything but that. It is an Alabama agenda. And I think people will recognize that if they actually look at my record that I’m very proud of.”
Jones also reacted to the apparent shake-up in leadership of the Alabama Democratic Party. Barring a successful court challenge from the previous leadership, the party will be led by State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa), to which Jones expressed his approval.
“I’m not only optimistic, I’m just really excited about it,” Jones added. “You know, the party has been stagnant for a long time. That’s why I’m having to get out as much as I am to get people to look at my record as a Democrat because the party has been so stagnant except in a few local races. I think Chris is going to bring some energy. We’ve got a lot of young people that are now getting engaged that are very, very excited.”
“As I said to you before, the goal here is to not take over the state,” he continued. “That’s just not going to happen. It’s not feasible. Quite frankly, I don’t want to go back to a one-party where the Democrats are in control than I particularly care that the Republicans are in control. What I think we need to see in this state of Alabama is a competitive system where people vie for folks’ votes, and they don’t take votes for granted in their districts. Vie for those votes, put forth those great programs, get that common ground – that’s going to be really good for the state. I’m very excited for the party, but more importantly, I’m excited for the state to have some opportunities that they really haven’t had for the 15 to 20 years.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV and host of “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN in Huntsville.
