The Republican primary contest for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District appears to be tightening, according to a recent poll by the Alabama Forestry Association.
The AFA conducted a survey from Feb. 20-25 of 403 likely Republican primary voters via landline and cell phones with a margin of error of +/-5%.
Asked who they would vote for it the primary were today, 30% said Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman. The rest of the results show a three-way way race for the second spot between Prattville businesswoman Jessica Taylor, former State Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise and former Alabama Attorney General Troy King.
Here are the ballot test percentages, according to the AFA survey:
- Coleman 30.02%
- Taylor 17.62%
- Moore 16.63%
- King 15.38%
- Undecided 19.85%
The survey also asked voters who would be their second choice, which could be an indicator of candidates’ strengths going into a likely two-person runoff. Here are the percentages for second choice, according to the AFA survey:
- King 22.12%
- Coleman 17.13%
- Moore 15.89%
- Taylor 13.40%
Coleman, a Dothan businessman, has heavily outspent his opponents thus far and has the greatest name recognition in the district, according to the survey. In a memo accompanying the poll, the AFA noted that Coleman has fended off attacks from the other candidates saying that his moving company defrauded the U.S. military by padding weights. The company paid $5 million to settle the dispute with the Department of Justice in 2015 and Coleman has made the point that the military continues to do business with his company to this day.
Taylor had the least name recognition among the candidates, but also the lowest “unfavorable” ratings, compared to Coleman, King and Moore.
The forestry association has not endorsed anyone in the contest to replace retiring Congresswoman Martha Roby, but has an interest in the district that covers much of the River Region and southeast Alabama.