Good morning!

Phew, what an election. Hats off to all the candidates who put themselves out there and the campaign workers who put in the hours to support them. Win or lose, there’s really nothing quite like American democracy at work.

Here’s your Daily News for Wednesday, June 22.

 

1. Britt wins big

• What started as a slow and steady climb in a crowded Republican primary suddenly turned into dominance Tuesday as Katie Britt handily defeated Mo Brooks for her party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate.
• Consider this: back in August, about a month after announcing her candidacy, Britt was polling at 17.7% to Brooks’ 40.8%. By March she had climbed to 28%, by May was in the mid 30s and won 45% in the May 24 primary. On Tuesday, Britt won going away with 63% of the vote to Brooks’ 37%, taking 66 of 67 counties.
• Britt, 40, cast herself as part of a new generation of conservative leaders while disparaging Brooks, 68, as a career politician. If victorious in November against Democrat Will Boyd, Britt will be the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama and one of its youngest members. The state’s previous female senators had been appointed.
• “Alabama has spoken. We want new blood. We want fresh blood,” she said at her victory party. “We want someone who will fight for Christian conservative values, who will fight for the freedoms and liberties this nation was founded on and will fight for the American dream for the next generation and the next generation.”
• Read more from Kim Chandler and Jill Colvin HERE.

• As part of our election coverage, ADN’s Maddison Booth and Mollee Breland captured the sights and sounds from Katie Britt’s historic night.
• They got photos from the victory party and spoke to a cross section of Britt supporters, including those who have known her all her life to those who recently hopped on the bandwagon.
• Read and see their work HERE.

 

 

2. Down the ballot

• After runoff elections Tuesday, the general election ballot is now set in some races. In other races, the outcome is already decided.
• State Rep. Wes Allen defeated State Auditor Jim Zeigler to win the Republican nomination for secretary of state. While most expected a close race, the latest numbers showed Allen dominating with 65% of the vote to Zeigler’s 35%. He’ll face Democrat Pamela LeFitte in November.
• In the race for Congress in North Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, Madison County Commission chair Dale Strong won convincingly over former Huntsville Superintendent Casey Wardynski 63%-37%. He’ll face Democrat Kathy Warner-Stanton in the general.
• In the Democratic runoff for governor, Yolanda Flowers defeated State Sen. Merika Sanders Fortier 55%-45% to win the chance to take on Gov. Kay Ivey in November.
• State Rep. Andrew Sorrell claimed the GOP nomination for state auditor by defeating Birmingham pastor Stan Cooke, a win that was tantamount to election since there’s no Democratic contender. That spread was Sorell 57%-Cooke 43% at last count.
• And the two Public Service Commission incumbents on the ballot survived runoff challenges. Place 2 Commissioner Chip Beeker easily defeated Robert McCollum 63%-37% while Place 1 Commissioner Jeremy Oden won 52%-48% over Brent Woodall.
• Read a full rundown of the down ballot races from Jay Reeves HERE.

 

 

3. What happened in the legislative contests

• For the first time in 40 years, there won’t be a Sanders in the Alabama Senate next year.  Former Sen. Hank Sanders’ bid to reclaim the seat he held for nine terms, until his daughter won it in 2018, fell short on Tuesday.
• According to unofficial results, Selma native Robert L. Stewart won the Democrat primary runoff with about 55.6% of the vote in the eight-county district. Stewart now faces Republican Michael Nimmer in November for the Black Belt seat.
• Malika Sanders Fortier left the seat to seek Democrats’ nomination for governor but also fell short Tuesday.
• That was one of 11 legislative races on primary ballots Tuesday.
• Read more about all the legislative runoffs from Mary Sell HERE.

 

4. Texas shooting: Uvalde police response was ‘abject failure’

• The head of the Texas state police pronounced the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting an “abject failure,” telling lawmakers that there were enough officers and firepower on the scene to have stopped the gunman three minutes after he entered the building.
• Col. Steve McCraw also said officers would have found the door to the classroom where the assailant was holed up unlocked if they had bothered to check it.
• Instead, police with rifles stood in a hallway for over an hour, waiting in part for more weapons and gear, before they finally stormed the classroom and killed the gunman, putting an end to the May 24 attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
• “I don’t care if you have on flip-flops and Bermuda shorts, you go in,” McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday in blistering testimony at a state Senate hearing.
• McCraw lit into Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief who McCraw said was in charge, saying: “The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children.”
• Read more HERE.

 

 

5. 1/6 hearing takeaways

• In its fourth hearing this month, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot on Tuesday examined how former President Donald Trump focused on a few swing states, directly urging officials to decertify President Joe Biden’s victory or find additional votes for himself.
• It was part of a larger scheme that also involved dozens of lawsuits, pressure on Department of Justice officials and, eventually, lobbying Vice President Mike Pence to reject Biden’s win at the congressional electoral count on Jan. 6.
• The panel is keeping to a tight narrative as it makes its case to the American public that Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat directly led to the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, when hundreds of his supporters broke into the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Biden’s victory.
• The witnesses at Tuesday’s hearing were all public officials who were directly lobbied by Trump or who received threats for doing their jobs after Trump persuaded millions of his followers — with no evidence — that he had actually won, not lost, the election.
• Read more about the takeaways from the hearing HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Britt wins big over Brooks in Alabama Senate race

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Katie Britt supporters: ‘She loves this state’

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – GOP secretary of state, Dem gubernatorial nominations set

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Sanders defeated in Senate bid, House GOP incumbents hold off challengers

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Top Texas cop: Uvalde police response was ‘abject failure’

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Jan. 6 takeaways: Trump’s state playbook; ‘hateful’ threats

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Inside Alabama Politics – June 15, 2022

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – State Personnel Board allows for up to 10% pay increase for senior employees

 

AL.COM – Katie Britt wins runoff, stands to become first woman elected senator in Alabama

 

AL.COM – Mo Brooks concedes to Katie Britt in GOP Senate runoff

 

AL.COM – Wes Allen wins GOP nomination for Alabama secretary of state; other results

 

AL.COM – Dale Strong wins GOP 5th Congressional District runoff

 

AL.COM – For first time ever, two women will face each other in Alabama gubernatorial election

 

AL.COM – Vestavia Hills gunman repeatedly called 911 in years before arrest

 

AL.COM – Alabama tightens rules on foul-smelling sludge after complaints

 

AL.COM – Mobile City Council unanimously votes against allocating money to Gayfers affordable housing development

 

AL.COM – UA imploding Tutwiler Hall July 4: How to see the demolition live.

 

AL.COM – 4 of the top 10 U.S.-made vehicles come from Alabama

 

AL.COM – Columnist Dana Hall McCain: Southern Baptists call for more consistent clergy sex abuse laws

 

AL.COM – Crossover voting in primary is against the law in Alabama: Here’s what that means

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Yolanda Flowers leads Dem governor runoff; Wes Allen wins GOP nod for secretary of state

 

Montgomery Advertiser – ‘Alabama has spoken’: Katie Britt wins Alabama Republican nomination for U.S. Senate

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Montgomery chef’s tomato pie named ‘Bama’s Best Tomato Dish’

 

Decatur Daily – 4 More for Moore: Moore wins second term to state House

 

Decatur Daily – Kitchens wins Lawrence District 5 GOP runoff; Puckett prevails in Limestone judge runoff

 

Decatur Daily – Mental health, behavioral issues pose challenge for local schools

 

Times Daily – Solid Waste Authority could net almost 500K from property sale

 

Times Daily – Tuscumbia man dies in single-vehicle crash

 

YellowHammer News – Katie Britt handily defeats Mo Brooks, clinches GOP nomination for U.S. Senate

 

YellowHammer News – Rep. Gary Palmer: ‘Disingenuous’ negative campaign ads are ‘becoming a huge problem’

 

YellowHammer News – AG Marshall honors Chambers County sheriff’s deputy killed during pursuit

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Family of Tuscaloosa-native captured soldier says Russia makes erroneous claim

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – What you need to know about infant COVID-19 Vaccines

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Gadsden State Community College starting nursing apprenticeship program

 

Tuscaloosa News – ‘Alabama has spoken’: Katie Britt wins Alabama Republican nomination for U.S. Senate

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa has plenty to offer travelers, stay-at-home vacationers

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa community explores West Alabama businesses at Celebrate Local event

 

Gadsden Times – Etowah County credit unions join forces to host first Fight Fraud Workshop

 

Gadsden Times – Gadsden’s second LGBTQ+ Pride event takes place this weekend. Here’s what to expect

 

Gadsden Times – Etowah Commissioners approve 8-mile repaving project for Appalachian Highway

 

Dothan Eagle – Raffensperger to testify at 1/6 hearing; Biden weighs gas tax holiday; Westminster dog show begins

 

Dothan Eagle – South Dakota impeachment trial will probe AG’s fatal crash

 

Dothan Eagle – Biden signs off on hefty pay raise for federal firefighters

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Britt wins tumultuous Alabama Senate race scrambled by Trump

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Ford pledges to work with community near future factory

 

Opelika-Auburn News – ‘Everything is on fire’: Ukraine region weathers bombardment

 

WSFA Montgomery – Family of Tuscaloosa-native captured soldier says Russia makes erroneous claim

 

WSFA Montgomery – Autauga County authorities searching for woman missing since Feb. 2021

 

WSFA Montgomery – 19-year-old charged with capital murder in Montgomery shooting

 

WAFF Huntsville – Flowers wins Democratic runoff in gubernatorial race

 

WAFF Huntsville – Britt wins GOP runoff in US Senate race

 

WAFF Huntsville – Family of Tuscaloosa-native captured soldier says Russia makes erroneous claim

 

WKRG Mobile – Sorrell named Alabama’s next state auditor

 

WKRG Mobile – South Sudan fights child marriage where girls sold for cows

 

WKRG Mobile – Europe wildfire risk heightened by early heat waves, drought

 

WTVY Dothan – DECISION 2022: Big night for Britt, Allen

 

WTVY Dothan – Flowers wins Democratic runoff in gubernatorial race

 

WTVY Dothan – Saunders squeaks out win in Henry County Commission, District 2 seat

 

WASHINGTON POST – Trump’s pressure drew violence, threats to local officials, committee shows

 

WASHINGTON POST – Takeaways from the elections in Alabama, Georgia and Virginia

 

WASHINGTON POST – Document reveals details of 2009 sexual assault allegation against Daniel Snyder

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Bipartisan Gun Bill Clears Initial Vote in Senate

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Ukraine Live Updates: Russia Captures More Ground as It Nears Full Control of Luhansk

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Linchpin of Ukrainian Defiance, a Southern City Endures Russian Barrage

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Biden to Call for Three-Month Federal Gasoline Tax Suspension

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Leveraged Muni Funds Face Losses as Bond Rout Drags On

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Biden Administration Targets Removal of Most Nicotine From Cigarettes

 

 

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