Rumors & Rumblings

“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here.

1. Alabama Delegates at the Republican National Convention have been raving behind-the-scenes about the speakers Lt. Gov. Ivey lined up for the delegation. Notable names who have spoken or are scheduled to speak to the Alabama group include Grover Norquist, Gov. John Sununu, RNC Political Director Rick Wiley, Rick Santorum, Karl Rove, Gov. Scott Walker, Gov. Chris Christie and Fred Barnes.

2. Internal polling over the last three months has consistently shown Governor Bentley up over 60% favorability among all voters and over 70% among Republicans. This includes polling data from as far back as June and as recent as the last couple of weeks.

3. Yellowhammer previously covered Mack Butler’s entrance into the HD 30 race and Rob McHugh has now qualified for the Oct. 23 Republican primary as well. Although McHugh owns a well known family farm and is Chairman of the St. Clair County Young Farmers Division, ALFA has decided not to make an endorsement in the race. Butler has been endorsed by numerous elected officials in the area including conservative stalwarts U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions and local State Senator Phil Williams.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Southside attorney Beth McGlaughan in the general election on Dec. 11. McGlaughan was the only Democrat to qualify.

4. Governor Bentley last week called for a special election to fill the House District 34 seat previously held by Rep. Elwyn Thomas. Bentley recently appointed Thomas to be Executive Director of the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission. House District 34 includes parts of Blount County and Jefferson County and a potentially crowded field is emerging including the following possible candidates:

James Bryson – Mayor of Highland Lake, Alabama
John Dobson – former District Judge, current head of the Blount County adult drug court
Jim Murphree – former Democrat State Representative who Elwyn Thomas defeated in 1998
Donny Ray – Executive Director, Blount-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce
David Standridge – Blount County Probate Judge
Tim Whitley – Farmer, former president of the Blount County Farmers Federation

Here’s the HD 34 special election timeline:

The special primary election: Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Run-off (if necessary): Tuesday, December 11, 2012 followed by a special general election:January 29, 2013.
General special election if no primary runoff: Tuesday, December 11.

5. The annual BCA Chairman’s Dinner is shaping up to be an interesting one this year. James Carville and Karl Rove will be taking the stage together for what is sure to be an epic left vs. right battle between two of the most well-known political consultants of the last quarter century. As a side note, BCA President & CEO Billy Canary worked with Rove as well as Carville’s wife Mary Matalin in the George H.W. Bush administration.