The Poarch Creek Band of Indians, who run several controversial casinos on Indian-controlled land within the Alabama borders, are going all-in to unseat sitting Attorney General Luther Strange.
Strange, the Republican incumbent, has aggressively fought the proliferation of gambling in Alabama since taking office in 2011. A lawsuit brought by Strange to shut down electronic bingo on Indian land was recently dismissed in federal court.
On Thursday, campaign finance reports revealed that Strange’s Democratic challenger, Rep. Joe Hubbard of Montgomery, received a total of $750,000 from three PACs controlled by Poarch Creek lobbyist John Teague. At the same time, each of Teague’s three PACs reported receiving $250,000 from the Poarch Creek Indians.
Hubbard said the Indians are tired of being attacked and are simply wanting an attorney general who will be “fair and law-abiding.”
“The Poarch Creek are sitting there with the federal court explaining what the law is and they have an attorney general that doesn’t know what the law is, who is not following the law and does not know how to enforce the law,” Hubbard said. “They want a fair and law-abiding attorney general, and that’s not what they have right now.”
Strange responded by saying Hubbard is “bought and paid for” by “special interests.”
“I don’t think the people of Alabama want their top prosecutor bought and paid for by Indian casino interests,” said Strange. “Democrat Joe Hubbard’s campaign is almost exclusively funded by the Poarch Creek Indians, a tribe engaged in a lawsuit against my office and supported by Barack Obama’s and Eric Holder’s Justice Department. Without a doubt, these gambling interests are attempting to buy their way out of a lawsuit by purchasing the office of the Attorney General.”
Strange also accused Hubbard of hypocrisy by pointing out that Hubbard had previously introduced legislation banning any contribution of more than $2,500 to a statewide candidate.
“If I’m going to give you $50,000, write you a check tomorrow, and I’m some big banker, whatever I am, if you’re like most politicians, you’re going to feel obligated to me or indebted to me,” Hubbard said at the time to explain his reasoning for pushing the legislation.
“My opponent is bought and paid for,” Strange reiterated. “I call upon him to return these special interest funds.”
Hubbard now has over $1 million cash on hand, but only $3,000 of the money Hubbard has raised since February has come from sources other than the Poarch Creek Indians.
Strange’s most recent report showed him with almost $1.5 million cash on hand.
Neither candidate faces a primary challenger in June, but will square off against each other in November’s General Election.
What do you think about the Poarch Creek Indians donating $750,000 to Hubbard’s campaign? Let us know in the comments or by tweeting @YHPolitics.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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