The culmination of over a year’s worth of fundraising and strategizing was packed into Tuesday’s election, with clear victors and losers being determined.
Winners
Gov. Kay Ivey & Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth
There was no major restructuring of the state’s power order, which is a huge victory for Alabama’s two highest-ranking constitutional officeholders. Ivey sailed to victory without a runoff despite the multi-million dollar bid to unseat her. While Ainsworth’s name did not appear on the ballot, his influence certainly could be felt in the election.
North Alabama influence
Along with Ainsworth, the rest of the Tennessee Valley’s heaviest hitters remain solidified in their positions of power. House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) and Attorney General Steve Marshall laid waste to their challengers, while Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper) and Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville) remain in their positions of influence with no opposition.
Dale Strong
While on the subject of North Alabama, the long-serving Madison County Commission chairman came within six percentage points of winning the race for Alabama’s open fifth congressional district seat outright. Strong, who faced a crowded five-opponent GOP primary field, won every county in the congressional district by an average of nearly a 20% margin.
Katie Britt
By every measurement, Britt outperformed the highest expectations set for her U.S. Senate candidacy as she won 62 of the state’s 67 counties Tuesday night. While emerging as the race’s frontrunner just weeks prior to the election, no polling projected the first-time candidate to come within striking distance of notching the Republican nomination without a runoff.
Paul Shashy & Sean Ross
When speaking of Britt’s electoral success, be sure to mention Shashy and Ross. The skilled political operatives and communications professionals of Britt’s staff played an instrumental role in propelling her to the top of the field. Their efforts have placed the first-time candidate under a month away from sealing the Republican nomination to become Alabama’s junior senator.
ALFA
Tuesday night brought great success for the Alabama Farmer Federation’s endorsed candidates. Those vying for the Alabama Legislature won or advanced to runoffs in at least 86% of contested races. Other FarmPAC-endorsed candidates that found success in the election were Gov. Kay Ivey, U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt, AL-5 hopeful Dale Strong, Attorney General Steve Marshall, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), along with State Board of Education candidates Tracie West, Marie Manning and Wayne Reynolds.
Alabama Realtors Association
The race between attorney Greg Cook and Calhoun County Circuit Judge Debra Jones for the Alabama Supreme Court intensified in the latter stages of the campaign. The Alabama Realtors Association, with the vital intervention of CEO Jeremy Walker, led the charge for the business community in ensuring Cook’s victory in a hard-fought primary election.
Voter Apathy
At the end of the night, it was clear that voter fatigue won Election Day. Statewide voter turnout was down by a notable margin, signifying that the saturation of negative campaign advertising overwhelmed Alabama’s electorate.
Losers
Alabama Democratic Party
Republican voters in the state of Alabama out-voted Democrats by nearly 4:1 in their parties’ respected gubernatorial primary elections. In total, only 168,074 individuals voted in the Democratic primary compared to 654,294 Republicans that participated in their primary election. Tuesday night proved that the GOP’s domination of Yellowhammer State politics is ever present.
Late funding strategies
Forgoing or being unable to take the long-haul approach to fundraising strategy proved detrimental to two down-ballot races for Alabama Supreme Court hopeful Debra Jones and Public Service Commission candidate Robin Litaker. The last-minute infusion of funds for their respected candidacies was of no benefit for either of the two candidates.
Self-funders
While mounting serious bids for their respected offices, the candidacies of U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Durant and gubernatorial candidate Lindy Blanchard failed to make the June 21, 2022, runoff election. Nearly $20 million was expended between the two self-made entrepreneurs in their first candidacies for public office.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
