Now that primary runoff Election Day is upon us, and we eagerly await the results that will finalize the slate of Republican candidates that will likely defeat Democrats in November in Alabama’s majority Republican state, here are a few tips for the highly engaged political watchers to keep an eye on as the results come in.
1) A good early indicator will be Limestone County: The last few elections, North Alabama’s Limestone County has been early with its returns, which is a credit to Limestone County Probate Judge Charles Woodroof.
Without a dominant North Alabama candidate like Mo Brooks or Tommy Battle skewing those returns, Limestone County could be an early bellwether.
2) Expect high turnout in Marshall County: With two hometown guys running, Steve Marshall for Alabama Attorney General and Will Ainsworth for Lieutenant Governor, Marshall County, which includes Guntersville, Albertville, Arab and most of Boaz, turnout will be higher than usual.
In a statewide election with a likely lower-than-normal turnout with no gubernatorial race at the top of the ticket, the Marshall County vote will be pivotal for Marshall and Ainsworth.
3) Although interest in the Roby-Bright race is somewhat exaggerated, a boost in the Wiregrass could play a role: There have been some national media lurking from Montgomery to Dothan looking for a Donald Trump angle on the race between incumbent Rep. Martha Roby and former Rep. Bobby Bright for the Republican nod.
It’s not clear a competitive race between the two is the case, but with both candidates engaging in get-out-the-vote efforts, that will drive turnout a little in the Wiregrass region.
If that turns out to be the case, that could favor lieutenant gubernatorial hopeful Twinkle Cavanaugh and Alabama attorney general hopeful Troy King.
4) Local races in Baldwin County could sway statewide races: Contentious races for Baldwin County Commissioner District 3 between incumbent commissioner Tucker Dorsey and Billie Jo Underwood, and for State Senate District 32 between Chris Elliott and David Northcutt could gin up some intrigue for heavily Republican Baldwin County.
Without a hometown candidate in the mix in southwestern Alabama, those votes are for grabs for the statewide candidates. Those in the Mobile media market have been subject to an onslaught of radio and TV spots from all candidates.
5) Alvin Holmes on the ropes? Probably not, but the incumbent state representative that has been a fixture in the Alabama legislature since 1974 is facing a runoff for the Democratic Party nod in Montgomery’s House District 78.
Holmes bested his current challenger Kirk Hatcher by nearly 400 votes in the Democratic primary but came up short in getting to the 50 percent-plus-one threshold required to avoid a runoff.
A Holmes defeat would send shockwaves through the Democratic Party, much like Doug Jones and Randall Woodfin’s victories had last year.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and is the editor of Breitbart TV.
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