Good morning! Somehow, we are halfway through the year. Here’s your Daily News for Monday, July 2, 2018.
1. Blue Wave or Red Tsunami?

- Looking toward November, Kim Chandler of the Associated Press writes about how Alabama Democrats are going into the general election with more hope for meaningful victories than they’ve had in a long time.
- From listening to Sen. Doug Jones, William Stewart, Wayne Flynt and current Great Blue Hope Walt Maddox, one certainly gets the idea that the fighting spirit is back in the Alabama Democratic Party.
- There to throw cold, red water on the suggestion is GOP Chairman Terry Lathan, who points to the dominant Republican voting numbers from the June 5 primary as proof any notion of a “blue wave” isn’t valid.
- Who is right? That’s why we have elections.
- Read more HERE.
2. Not so fast, my friend.

- Wait wait, why are we talking about November anyway? We have some runoffs to get through first, some pretty important ones actually.
- Alabama Daily News Contributor Matthew Stokes is taking a look at the runoffs, starting with the Lt. Governor’s race.
- Stokes says Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh should showcase her years of experience in public office as an asset, and not a liability. just as Kay Ivey did when she won the job years ago.
- As for Will Ainsworth, Stokes says maybe dial back the piety and talk more about policy.
- Read Stokes’ latest piece for yourself HERE.
Congress
- In the race for Congress in AL-2, U.S. Rep. Martha Roby and challenger Bobby Bright each answered questions for a Montgomery Advertiser survey. You can read Roby’s HERE and Bright’s HERE.
- Pretty basic stuff, honestly. And no mention of the Trump endorsement, which is interesting. Maybe the questionnaire was sent before that happened. Or maybe the news has already moved on.
Attorney General
- Troy King says he is resuming his campaign after pausing it for almost a week in the wake of opponent Steve Marshall’s wife’s death.
- That means the TV ads are going back up. King says they will be focused on issues “just as they always have.”
- King’s anti-Marshall ads were pretty hard-hitting before. If they are the same ads, he runs some risk of being perceived as kicking a man while he’s down.
Deadline
- Speaking of the primary runoff, today is the LAST DAY to register to vote in that election.
- The interesting thing about newly-registered voters is that they aren’t tethered to the party they voted for in the primary like everybody else is.
- If you know someone who just moved here, just turned 18 or just is inexplicably not registered, send them the information at THIS LINK.
3. Get Woke.

What’s happening
- Some Alabamians are joining the national demonstration against Trump immigration actions/policies with homegrown “Families Belong Together” rallies.
- Rallies were held in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, and Auburn (maybe elsewhere?).
- The one in Huntsville made national news for all the wrong reasons.
Why it matters
- The demonstrations show that at least a portion of the Democratic base in Alabama might be breaking toward the national progressive trend of resistance politics.
- That means they could put pressure on Democratic candidates to support the same.
- Alabama Democrats have long sought to distance themselves from their national party, so that might get tricky for some candidates.
What’s next
- All over the country, liberals are demanding more from Democratic candidates. Not even Bernie Sanders gets a pass from progressives pressing candidates to oppose Trump at every turn.
- That’s only going to intensify with a Supreme Court confirmation battle looming.
- Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of the New York Times dig deeper into this in their weekend piece.
For Democrats, the transformation could prove as consequential as President Trump’s consolidation of power in his own party and the conservative movement’s tightening grip on the federal government.
- Opposing or even being lukewarm on Trump will get you in trouble in a GOP primary in Alabama.
- What would happen if opposing Trump’s impeachment or the abolishment of ICE became deal breakers for Alabama Democrats?
4. Welcome Caroline Beck!

- I’m pleased to announce the newest addition to Alabama Daily News: Caroline Beck.
- Caroline will soon be coming on as a reporter covering state politics and government, and other interesting things.
- She hails from Indianapolis, Indiana and graduated from Hanover College, where she worked as Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper.
- I’m excited to see how Caroline will use her considerable talents and unique voice to contribute to our state’s political and public policy conversation.
- You can reach Caroline by email at [email protected]. I’m sure she’ll appreciate notes of welcome, but I know she’d like tips and sources even better.
- Welcome, Caroline, and good luck!
5. Headlines.
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Matthew Stokes: show me your policy, not your piety in Lt. Gov runoff.
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump delaying NAFTA deal until after midterm elections
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Blue hope, tough math: Alabama Democrats eye November
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Monday final day to register to vote in July runoff
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Roberts may hold key vote as Supreme Court moves right
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Automakers, manufacturers oppose Trump call for auto tarriffs
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump’s Supreme Court search begins, with youth a key factor
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Vacant housing ordinance to be introduced at Tuesday’s council meeting.
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Montgomery courts overflow with evictions.
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Moving Autauga Creek.
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Top Montgomery fire official resigns amid domestic violence accusation.
DOTHAN EAGLE – A glimmer of hope in a dark tragedy.
DOTHAN EAGLE – Alabama’s water war interests tied to Sunshine State.
ATHENS NEWS COURIER – PULSE OF THE VOTERS: Locals weigh in on Stormy controversy, senior concerns.
CULLMAN TIMES – Tragedy pushes us to change.
DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE – Kim Ennis talks future of Bevill State.
ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – DUI laws change on Sunday.
ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – Siegelman: AG should represent people, not party.
LAGNIAPPE – District 32 runoff takes a turn toward the negative.
LAGNIAPPE – Judicial funding shortfalls garner national attention.
DECATUR DAILY – Reporter Mary Sell’s Capital Notebook: Prison employees getting pay bump.
DECATUR DAILY – Gas prices higher than last year, but on the decline since Memorial Day, AAA says.
FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – Small water systems face big challenges.
FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – Hispanic, Latin communities join Pride march.
GADSDEN TIMES – The press always turns — regardless.
ANNISTON STAR – Ride sharing services officially go statewide Sunday. Getting a ride in a small town may not be easy.
ANNISTON STAR – Trump tax provision on churches, other nonprofits catches locals off guard.
ANNISTON STAR – Doug Jones, the value of moderate governance.
TUSCALOOSA NEWS – Want a booming economy? Invest in early childhood development.
TUSCALOOSA NEWS – Separating families at the border was more widespread, began earlier records show.
OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS – Citizens gather in Auburn to protest Trump’s immigration policies.
AL.COM – New Helen Keller archive makes 160,000 artifacts accessible to blind, deaf and other audiences.
AL.COM – 73 guns returned at Central Alabama Gun Buyback.
AL.COM – Illegal vs undocumented: The heated divide over how we talk about immigration.
AL.COM – Contributor Dana Hall McCain: Why Roby’s right for Alabama.
AL.COM – Man brandishes gun at ‘Families Belong Together’ rally in Huntsville.
AL.COM – Alabama tax delinquency amnesty program begins July 1.
AL.COM – Toffee, deaf puppy trapped in hole in Alabama, gains worldwide attention, wild rescue ideas.
AL.COM – Columnist Kyle Whitmire: The secret buying of an Alabama politician.
AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald: In Birmingham, we’ll thrive or perish together.
WASHINGTON POST – Trump stands firm on trade, even as foreign tariffs begin kicking in.
WASHINGTON POST – ‘A way of monetizing poor people’: How private equity firms make money offering loans to cash-strapped Americans.
WASHINGTON POST – Alabama man arrested after shouting ‘womp, womp’ and pulling a gun on immigration protesters.
WASHINGTON POST – States act on their own to fill holes Washington is knocking in Affordable Care Act.
NEW YORK TIMES – Supreme Court Defeat for Unions Upends a Liberal Money Base.
NEW YORK TIMES – Sponsors of Migrant Children Face Steep Transport Fees and Red Tape.
NEW YORK TIMES – Newspaper Shooting Shows Widening Use of Facial Recognition by Authorities.