By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – One key matchup on the ballot this coming Tuesday is the Republican runoff for Secretary of State between current State Auditor Jim Zeigler and State Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy.
Both candidates appeared on this week’s Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television to make their final pitch to voters as Election Day nears.
Allen said his experience as Pike County Probate Judge makes sets him apart as the only candidate who has administered elections, which is the primary responsibility for Alabama’s Secretary of State.
“We need someone with the experience, passion and energy to make sure that we have great, safe and secure elections – transparent elections,” Allen said. “I’m the only candidate in this race who has been a chief elections official. I served right at ten years as a probate judge in Pike County and I know what it’s like to be at the courthouse at 5:30 on Election Day to get the day going. I know what it’s like to recruit and train poll workers… those questions will not be foreign to me.”
Zeigler said his history of challenging the political establishment sets him apart as a candidate.
“(Allen) is backed by the Montgomery establishment with their hundreds of thousands in donations, their endorsements, their resources. I have been a guy that has questioned the establishment, challenged them and sometimes opposed them. They are not for me in this race,” Zeigler said. “So you have an ‘establishment’ candidate and you have a ‘people’s’ candidate.”
See their full interviews below.