Shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night it became clear that Republicans would take the majority in the U.S. Senate, topping off a massive night for the GOP and a crushing defeat for the Obama presidency.
Voters tossed out Democratic incumbent senators in Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina and elected Republicans to fill seats being vacated by retiring Democrats in Montana, South Dakota and Virginia. That delivered the six pickups the GOP needed to seize control of the majority, but they weren’t done there. Republicans also notched a hard-fought victory in Iowa, and feel confident going into a runoff in Republican-leaning Louisiana Dec. 6th. And if Republicans win in Alaska — where it apparently could take several days to get a final tally — their majority could ballon to 54 votes in the 100-member body.
It was a monumental night for the Republican party nationally, and a seismic shift in the Washington power structure. But for Alabama, this was an election like no other.
Alabama is largely overlooked during presidential years. It’s nowhere close to being a swing state and doesn’t play the outsized role that Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Florida do by holding their primaries early. Even in midterm years, there’s just not a lot of action in the General Election. Of Alabama’s seven congressional districts, six of them are a lock for Republicans, one of them is safely Democratic. This year Alabama was home to the only U.S. Senate race in the country in which Democrats didn’t even bother to field a candidate.
But in spite of the electoral spotlight shining pretty much everywhere but Alabama on Tuesday, once the fog of war clears, the Yellowhammer State may prove to be the night’s biggest winner.
BREAKING: @SenatorSessions will be your new Budget Chair, @SenShelby your new Banking Chair. MASSIVE night for GOP in Alabama. #alpolitics
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) November 5, 2014
Think I can get used to the sound of Chairman Richard Shelby and Chairman Jeff Sessions!! #alpolitics #Majority
— Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) November 5, 2014
In the U.S. Senate where seniority is paramount, Alabama’s delegation is incredibly well positioned.
Alabama’s senior U.S. senator Richard Shelby will be the 7th most senior member of the body when it convenes in January of 2015.
Alabama’s junior U.S. senator Jeff Sessions will be either the 18th or 19th most senior member of the body, depending on whether Democratic senator Mary Landrieu holds on to her hotly contested seat in Louisiana, which looks unlikely at this point.
That means the average seniority of Alabama’s senators will be either 12.5 or 13. The only senate delegation that will eclipse that level of seniority is California’s, whose two senators will have an average seniority rank of 10.5.
So why does that matter?
In addition to perks like better office space and a desk closer to the front of the Senate Chamber, senior senators get plumb committee assignments and chairmanships.
Sen. Shelby will Chair the Banking Committee and be the second-ranking Republican on Appropriations. Sen. Sessions will chair the Budget Committee.
Reminder: Alabama is about to be the only state in the country with TWO chairmen of A-Level Senate committees. #Clout #alpolitics
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) November 5, 2014
Back in April, Yellowhammer summarized how big of a deal this scenario would be:
If Republicans take control of the Senate in 2014, Alabama would likely be the only state with two chairmen of A-level committees. No other state has that level of seniority.
On top of that, the way that the Budget and Appropriations committees interplay with each other would create a unique situation in which Alabama’s senators would be playing leading roles in shaping U.S. economic policy. There’s a very realistic potential scenario in which one Alabamian (Sessions) sets the number for how much money the federal government has to spend, and another Alabamian (Shelby) plays a major role in how the money is spent.
That’s why it’s safe to say that Alabama stands to gain as much or more than any state in the country by a Republican takeover of the Senate.
That “very realistic potential scenario” became reality Tuesday night, and that’s why Alabama is the biggest winner in the GOP takeover of the U.S. Senate.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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