Democrats holding public office in Alabama have become something of an endangered species. The party lost its last held-statewide office in November 2012 election when Twinkle Cavanaugh defeated Lucy Baxley by an 8 percent margin for the Alabama Public Service Commission presidency.
The party now exists in the mostly urban and minority-dominated parts of Alabama. And according to Roll Call, there is little reason for optimism for the Democratic Party in Alabama to return to relevance, much less some semblance of the party that held the governor’s mansion for over 100 years following Reconstruction.
A July 23 article in Roll Call by Abby Livingston explained that recent struggles have led to the Alabama Democratic Party earning a spot on the “most dysfunctional” list.
“Yellowhammer State Democrats struggle to keep the lights on — literally,” Livingston wrote. “Earlier this year, Mark Kennedy bolted from the state party’s top job to form a group called the Alabama Democratic Majority. Soon after, interim chairwoman Nancy Worley announced the committee was in dire financial straits: It had been threatened with eviction, was unable to pay utility bills, had its credit cards maxed out and was missing equipment from the party’s headquarters…”
Livingston acknowledged that the Democratic Party’s struggles in Alabama matter very little as none of the state’s seven congressional seats, six held by Republicans, are expected to change hands. But she said the issue was emblematic of the Democratic Party’s situation in the South.
“The state of Alabama Democrats might not matter much in 2014, given that there are no competitive House races in the state,” Livingston wrote. “But the party’s situation is indicative of Democrats’ dire organizational situation throughout the Deep South.”
The Alabama Democratic Party joined the Alaska Republican Party, the Georgia Democratic Party, the Iowa Republican Party, the New Jersey Republican Party, the Minnesota Republican Party and the Nevada Republican Party as the other six state political parties in disarray.
What else is going on?
1. Fincher picks up major endorsement from GOPAC in AL01 Race
2. Sessions hammers Obama in sequestration hearing
3. Democrats regain their lead in generic congressional ballot (Rasmussen)
4. OFA-Alabama preps for ‘Action August’ campaign
5. Stand your ground laws under attack nationally as a result of Zimmerman verdict
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