Deeply Red Alabama Returns To Form With Tuberville Win
An Alabama Senate seat is firmly back in the Republican column after former Auburn University football coach and Republican Tommy Tuberville defeated Democratic incumbent Sen. Doug Jones in Tuesday’s election. Jones far outspent his challenger, but in the end it wasn’t a close contest. Unofficial results show Tuberville with 61% of the vote.
Jacksonville State University political science professor Lori Owens has analysis of the results.
Jones narrowly won his seat in a special election in December 2017 against Republican Roy Moore in what was an usual race on a number levels. But Tuesday’s result was far different — a strong showing for Tuberville. What made the difference?
“First of all [2020] is a presidential election year and you had a very popular Republican candidate at the top of the ballot. Tuberville could afford to hug Trump all he wanted to and that was going to help him. Trump had tremendous coattails in the state. Tuberville had no political experience and no political baggage. He was deemed as an outsider and that apparently is viewed very positively right now, not just in the state of Alabama.
“And then in the Roy Moore/Doug Jones race (in 2017) you had the last minute allegation about inappropriate behavior with females (against Moore). Overall the turnout was even higher in this presidential election year than in previous years. Tuberville based his campaign on going into communities. He avoided debates. He avoided media interviews. All that worked for him.”
Unofficial results show Tuberville winning with 61% of the vote. That’s about where most Republican candidates have been the last several statewide contests. Are we at a point where it doesn’t matter what a candidate does or doesn’t do? We’re pretty much locked into a 60 /40 split politically statewide?
“For the the foreseeable future I think that’s probably going to be the situation. Now the Alabama Democrats and Jones made a good effort, Jones being a reputable, respected man. The Democratic strategy was to concentrate on that particular race. In the future, they may concentrate on one or two races and try to continue to make some headway, but they’ve got a long way to go. The truth is the Alabama Democratic Party would have to separate themselves more from the national Democratic Party right now if they want to gain more traction in the state.”
What can we expect from a Senator Tuberville?
“I’m not sure we know right now. He didn’t talk too much about specific issues. But I expect if it’s a Trump White House, he will be in lockstep with President Trump’s program. If it ends up being a Biden White House, then he will be part of the opposition against what Biden, Harris and the Democrats want to implement for the country.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Blue Jays rout Dodgers 11-4 in World Series opener
Addison Barger launched the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, as the Toronto Blue Jays overwhelmed the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener Friday night in Toronto.
U.S. sends aircraft carrier to South America in major escalation of military firepower
The deployment and the quickening pace of U.S. strikes, including one Friday, raised new speculation about how far the Trump administration may go in operations it says are targeted at drug trafficking.
DOJ hires immigration judges after months of layoffs
Judges will soon take the bench across 16 states, the Justice Department said. These include courts that saw the biggest losses of judges this year.
Pakistan bans hard-line Islamist party known for its fierce anti-blasphemy stance
Pakistan banned a hard-line Islamist party on Thursday, more than a week after heated clashes with police that left at least five people dead.
U.S. imposes sanctions on Colombia’s president and family over drug trade allegations
The sanctions sharply escalate tensions with the leftist leader of a country that has traditionally been one of the closest U.S. allies in South America.
Rosa Parks and Helen Keller statues unveiled at the Alabama Capitol
The monuments honoring the Alabama natives, whose advocacy helped dismantle racial segregation and promoted the rights of people with disabilities, are the first statues of women to be installed on the lawn of the Alabama Capitol.
