MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Republican attorney general candidates Katherine Robertson and Jay Mitchell faced off on Tuesday night during a Republican runoff candidate forum, hitting on familiar points like “dark money” and violent crime.
Robertson and Mitchell earned their spots in the runoff last week, earning 41% and 34% of the vote, respectively.
Pamela Casey, the Blount County district attorney, got 25% of the vote and did not advance. She endorsed Mitchell on Tuesday afternoon.
The two candidates remaining have traded attacks on the campaign trail, and Tuesday night was no different. During the forum hosted by the Shelby County GOP in Pelham, the candidates gave opening statements, answered a few questions and offered closing remarks.
The sentiments shared by the two candidates were familiar to anyone who has been following the race.
Robertson began in her opening statement by reminding voters of her experience. She has worked under current Attorney General Steve Marshall as his chief counsel for the last decade or so.
Referencing a federal court’s Tuesday ruling that bars Alabama from using a GOP-friendly congressional map, Robertson said she was raised to care about state’s rights.
“I do not like seeing Alabama be pushed around,” Robertson said. “I don’t like for us to be pushed around by federal courts. I don’t like to see us pushed around by past administrations. I don’t like to see us pushed around by left-wing groups.”
Mitchell’s opening statement leaned on his tenure as a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court “handling the biggest, toughest, most complex cases that we have in our state, on both the civil society and the criminal side.”
He mentioned priorities of standing with law enforcement, tackling violent crime and fighting for the pro-life cause. Throughout the night, his responses centered around being aggressive and pushing Alabama forward.
“We’ve also got to have an attorney general who knows what time it is in America,” Mitchell said. “This is not a time for being low energy, for being passive. This is a time for going on offense with President Trump and soon-to-be Governor Tuberville to go and get these generational conservative victories. That’s what I’m going to do.”
‘Dark money’
The night was not without its back and forth jousts between the candidates.
Mitchell attacked Robertson for accepting what he calls “dark money,” and Robertson defended her record, emphasizing that getting this out-of-state money proves her strong connections with other conservatives in the country.
“You’re going to want an attorney general that has national relationships,” Robertson said. “You are going to want an attorney general that can walk in on day one and be supported by the other 27 Republican AGs. You’re going to want an attorney general that’s plugged in with the conservative legal movement, which Jay has been a part of for quite some time.”
The moderators were the first to bring up Robertson’s so-called dark money. They asked her why voters should feel confident that these donations will not influence her decisions if elected.
Robertson answered that the opposite was true.
“They do influence my decisions because my money has come from some of the most conservative organizations in our country,” Robertson said. “Jay knows where my money came from. Most of it came from the Republican attorneys general. A lot of it came from a guy named Leonard Leo, who he knows.”
Robertson has taken in money from several 501(c)4 organizations, which don’t have to disclose their donors publicly like Alabama PACs do.
“These are people that don’t need anything from me,” Robertson said. “These are people that are standing with me because of 20 years in the movement, they know what they’re gonna get with me.”
Mitchell pushed back on this, arguing that “you’re going to dance with the one who brought you.”
In a familiar refrain, Mitchell touted that 97% of the money he’s raised has come from within Alabama.
“My opponent has taken over $3 million in dark money from these dark money shell groups that get set up,” Mitchell said. “They do not register or disclose with our secretary of state’s office. They don’t want you to know who they are, and I would just challenge you, ask yourselves, who are these people? What are they hiding, and what did they possibly want with Alabama’s attorney general office?”
Robertson later pushed back on Mitchell’s claim that donations from these groups constitute dark money and argued that he wanted to secure some of the funding she ultimately did.
“As you know, it’s been reported Jay sought the same support I’ve got, not just from the foresters, but from the same conservative national groups that I’ve got,” Robertson said. “It sounds like a liberal talking to call conservative groups dark money. Conservatives have fought for donor privacy for a long time. Go Google it.”
Violent crime
Both candidates were asked questions related to violent crime in Alabama.
Mitchell said the through line with crime “hotspots” is that they’re Democratic cities “run by blue city mayors who are soft on crime and who do not back up their law enforcement officers when the going gets tough.”
He said it’s important to focus on these areas, mentioning Montgomery, Birmingham, Bessemer, Selma and Prichard by name.
“As attorney general, I believe it’s high time we may have to flex on some of these blue cities if they don’t keep getting the job done,” Mitchell said. “The reason is this: I care about the people who live in those cities, but I care about those of us who live around it too because the crime that happens there inevitably spills out.”
On the same subject, Robertson talked about how she has already worked to lower violent crime during her current tenure in the AG’s office. She talked about tightening parole and keeping violent prisoners incarcerated.
“I wrote and advocated for legislation, worked with many of the legislators in this room to make sure that Alabama can be proud of our criminal justice system,” Robertson said. “It is tough, it is fair, but we are not letting people loose again, and that’s why our prisons are full of violent offenders. 85% of our prisoners are violent, they need to stay there.”
Closing messages
Robertson ended the night by emphasizing her experience and her ability to hit the ground running in January if elected.
She talked about her relationships with law enforcement, the Legislature, other Republican attorneys general and conservative groups across the country.
“We’re going to have two years left in the most friendly presidential administration this state’s ever going to have,” Robertson said. “We do not have time for on-the-job training.”
Mitchell finished by reiterating that he would stand with law enforcement, protect the unborn and “be on offense” with Trump and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville.
“Look, this race is really, really important,” Mitchell said. “We’re talking about hiring the chief law enforcement officer of the state, the chief corporate lawyer of the state, and I think it’s really important that you focus. There are real differences in this race.”
Robertson and Mitchell will fight for the Republican nomination in the runoff election on June 16.
Democrat Jeff McLaughlin awaits the runoff winner in the general election on Nov. 3.