MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Last week’s primary election was full of upsets, including challengers unseating at least eight sitting members of the Legislature.
The Alabama Farmers Federation and its FarmPAC are being credited with several key defeats, as they pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into races statewide. The federation in a press release earlier this week recognized the extraordinary amount of money it spent this election cycle.
“By all counts, more money was spent per candidate in the May 19 primary elections than in Alabama’s history,” the release reads.
ALFA-backed candidates earned their party’s nomination or advanced to the runoff in more than 80% of State House, congressional, state Board of Education and statewide contests, according to the release.
Forty-one of 51 candidates supported by the group won or advanced. Ten were defeated outright.
Jimmy Parnell, ALFA’s president, said that the results “demonstrated the power of personal relationships.”
“FarmPAC’s endorsement is coveted because it is rooted in our organization’s conservative values and backed by engaged Federation leaders in every local community,” Parnell said. “Hard-working Alabama families and small business owners, including farmers, are in a fight for the future of our state. Common sense won the first battle.”
On endorsing challengers over incumbents, Parnell said that “county Federation leaders remembered when candidates took that relationship for granted and failed to listen when farmers voiced their concerns.”
He mentioned gambling as a topic that led ALFA to split with certain incumbents. Gambling has been a perennial issue in the Legislature over the last quadrennium.
“If incumbents supported government overreach, more regulations, weakened private property rights, supported gambling or imposed mandates that drive up the cost of living, they were less likely to earn the support of FarmPAC or the voters, as was evident in this election,” Parnell said. “Victories by candidates who earned the trust of county Farmers Federations demonstrate grassroots connections are still more powerful than out-of-state dollars.”
Alabama State Legislature
Twenty-one of the 25 ALFA-endorsed Republican candidates for the state Legislature won or advanced to a runoff. The same was true for 10 out of 13 endorsed Democrats running for State House seats.
Here are some of the biggest wins for ALFA-back candidates.
- Senate District 22: In a surprising upset, Republican first-time candidate Terry Waters defeated Senate General Fund Chair Greg Albritton with 52% of the vote. Albritton has held the South Alabama seat for more than a decade.
- House District 1: Republican Maurice McCaney defeated incumbent Rep. Phillip Pettus with 59% of the vote.
- House District 13: Republican Mike Elliott won 58% of the vote in House District 13, defeating incumbent Rep. Greg Barnes, R-Jasper. Barnes took office in December, winning the seat after Sen. Matt Woods, R-Jasper, vacated the seat.
- House District 60: Democrat Alicia Escott Lumpkin defeated incumbent Rep. Juandalynn Givan to take District 60, with 53% of the vote. Givan, who was first elected in 2010, won 34% of the vote.
- House District 85: Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, won reelection with 56% of the vote. He bested Henry County Commission Chairman David Money in the race for the Wiregrass seat.
- House District 96: Challenger Danielle Duggar of Spanish Fort defeated incumbent Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, winning 51% of the vote for the southern Alabama seat.
Statewide, congressional and education elections
ALFA’s chosen candidates for statewide and congressional offices, as well as for Alabama’s Board of Education, won their party’s nomination or advanced to the runoff in 10 of 13 races.
“With less than 1% of people involved in farming, it’s important to support candidates who understand the importance of agriculture and forestry to our state,” Parnell said. “This year, we were able to elect statewide officials who were raised on farms and share the Christian values and work ethic of our members. Local Federation leaders were excited to support Corey Hill, Katherine Robertson and Caroleene Dobson, among others, and we are proud to see them advance.”
Outright winners
- Tommy Tuberville, Governor
- Caroleene Dobson, Secretary of State
- Young Boozer, State Treasurer
- Matt Gentry, Public Service Commission, Place 1
- Mike Rogers, U.S. Congress, District 3
- Robert Aderholt, U.S. Congress, District 4
The most notable win of those is that of Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry for the PSC.
Gentry crushed longtime incumbent Jeremy Oden with 311,845 votes, or 74.9% in the race for Place 1.
Endorsed candidates headed to a runoff
- Barry Moore, U.S. Senate
- Wes Allen, Lieutenant Governor
- Katherine Robertson, Attorney General
- Corey Hill, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
- Chris Beeker, Public Service Commission, Place 2
Three candidates endorsed by ALFA in statewide races were defeated outright.
The first was Attorney General Steve Marshall, who was running for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat. He finished third in the Republican primary, with U.S. Rep. Barry Moore and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson advancing to the runoff.
ALFA has since changed course and endorsed Moore.
The federation had backed Republican attorney Derek Chen in his battle to unseat incumbent State Auditor Andrew Sorrell. Despite his significant financial support, Chen fell to Sorrell.
Republican Cathi Bradford also defeated ALFA-endorsed incumbent Marie Manning in the race for the District 6 seat on Alabama’s Board of Education.
The runoff is June 16. The general election is Nov. 3.