Democrat Doug Jones just scored a big victory for himself and his party, but even before he takes the oath of office and joins the Senate, he will have a long line of Republican challengers waiting in the wings.
Jones benefited from the checkered history and sexual-abuse allegations dogging Republican candidate Roy Moore. But Jones’ politics puts him to the left of most Alabama voters.
Here are 20 Republicans, in alphabetical order, who potentially could try to prove in 2020 that Jones’ victory was a fluke:
1. Robert Aderholt. A U.S. representative from northern Alabama, he is a member of the congressional Tea Party Caucus with conservative views on abortion, taxes and defense spending.
2. Tommy Battle. The mayor of Huntsville is running for governor on a message of economic development. If he falls short, he may find the Senate race attractive especially if he raises his profile across the state in the coming months.
3. Scott Beason. The former state senator from Jefferson County gained a reputation for tackling gun rights and other hot-button conservative issues in the legislature. An effective communicator to the base, Beason would find raising dollars a challenge in a crowed field.
4. Mo Brooks. The outspoken conservative congressman from Huntsville is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and finished third the special election primary in the Senate race. He enjoyed the endorsements from the likes of Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin but needs to increase his name ID in south Alabama.
5. Bradley Byrne. The Baldwin County lawyer brushed himself off from a disappointing loss in the 2010 gubernatorial race to win a special election to Congress in 2013. He would bring statewide name recognition and knowledge of state and federal issues to any Senate race.
6. Rick Burgess. An outside-the-box choice, he would have high name recognition because of his longtime job as co-host of the popular “The Rick and Bubba Show” on radio but is untested as a candidate.
7. Scott Dawson. The founder of the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association and the Strength to Stand Conference movement, he is one of a number of people on this list running for governor next year. He seems well-positioned to inherit Moore’s constituency should he challenge Jones.
8. Ed Henry. The state representative from Hartselle co-chaired President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Alabama and pushed to oust then-Gov. Robert Bentley after revelations he had been having an affair with an adviser.
9. Bill Hightower. A conservative state senator from Mobile County, he espouses a social conservatism that meshes well with Alabama voters and has business experience. He might be off this list if he wins next year’s race for governor, however.
10. Del Marsh. The leader of the state Senate representing St. Clair and Calhoun counties, he would bring a deep knowledge of state policy issues to Washington and has a track record of conservative reforms like the Alabama Accountability Act to run upon.
11. John Merrill. The Alabama secretary of state soaked up a ton of airtime on national news shows the past month as the chief elections official in the just-concluded race for the Senate. He is thought to be politically ambitious.
12. Glenn Murdock. The Alabama Supreme Court justice has 17-years on the bench and more than 20,000 cases showing evidence of conservative opinions on pro-life issues, traditional marriage, and private property rights among others. He’s also the only potential contender who has been elected statewide three times.
13. Arthur Orr. The state senator from Decatur has served as chairman of both the general fund and education budget committees. He would bring wide experience in tax and budget issues to Washington.
14. Gary Palmer. The two-term Republican representative won election in Alabama’s 6th Congressional District in the Birmingham suburbs in 2014 after running the conservative Alabama Policy Institute. He would offer voters a conservative choice.
15. Trip Pittman. The state senator from Baldwin County finished fourth in the Senate primary and is leaving office at the end of his term. Like Orr, he has served as chairman of both of the state Senate’s budget committees.
16. Jimmy Rane. The founder of Great Southern Wood Processing, he is Alabama’s richest man, a longtime Auburn University booster and behind-the-scenes political power broker. His personal wealth would allow him to self-finance a first-class Senate campaign.
17. Bob Riley. The former governor is 73, was close to convicted state House Speaker Mike Hubbard and has shown no interest in returning to politics. If did, though, he was have near-universal name recognition and a demonstrated ability to raise money.
18. Cliff Sims. The former head honcho at Yellowhammer News considered running for Congress in 2014 and now works in the White House. His time writing for grassroots readers helped him learn to feel the pulse of Alabama’s conservative base.
19. Sandy Stimpson. The two-term mayor of Mobile had demonstrated an ability to win in a diverse city and has enjoyed a largely drama-free tenure. A conservative on policy, in tone and tenor, he would be the anti-Moore.
20. Unknown. Few people outside of Tuscaloosa had heard of Robert Bentley before he surprised everyone and moved into the governor’s mansion, and Donald Trump wasn’t on any short lists two years before winning the White House, either. We shouldn’t expect any different this time.
Who esle do you think should toss their hat in the ring? Take this over to social media and let your family and friends know.
Brendan Kirby is senior political reporter at LifeZette.com and a Yellowhammer contributor. He also is the author of “Wicked Mobile.” Follow him on Twitter.
(Yellowhammer News staff contributed to this report.)
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