Republican Chip Beeker’s campaign to unseat incumbent Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn received the support of two former rivals on Monday. Small businessman Jonathan Barbee and minister and educator Phillip Brown, two former PSC candidates, announced their endorsements of Beeker for the runoff set to take place July 15th.
Beeker received the most votes in the primary, but the crowded field kept him below the 50% needed to avoid a runoff.
Vote totals from the PSC – Place 2 primary:
Candidate | % | Total votes
Chip Beeker | 39% | 133,285
Terry Dunn | 33% | 111,079
Jonathan Barbee | 16% | 54,177
Phillip Brown | 13% | 42,977
Barbee, who finished third in the primary, expressed his appreciation to his supporters, but said he now believes Republicans “must stand together and support a like-minded candidate.”
“As we crossed paths on the campaign trail, all of us running for the PSC came to know one another, and I believe Chip Beeker is the only remaining candidate who can effectively fight against the radical environmentalist agenda and Barack Obama’s job-killing energy policies,” Barbee said. “While most of the PSC members are opposed to the liberal environmental lobby, they say that one weak link can break a chain, and I’m convinced Chip Beeker can bring some much needed strength to this particular seat on the commission.”
Barbee owns Media Works Communications, a Birmingham-based production company that he founded in 1997.
Brown, who finished fourth in the primary, informed his followers via social media that he too would be throwing his support behind Beeker.
“I would like to ask those who have supported me to give their support to the frontrunner, Chris ‘Chip’ Beeker,” Brown wrote on his campaign’s Facebook page. “I have gotten to know Chip during the campaign and believe he is an honorable man. On July 15, let’s elect Chip Beeker for the Public Service Commission Place 2.”
Brown is a minister at Birmingham’s Forestdale Church of Christ and is a teacher in the Jefferson County school system.
“I appreciate that my former opponents who are now my supporters recognize that I have the strength needed to keep utility rates affordable, to stand up for Alabama consumers, and to fight the leftist agenda that Obama and his D.C. cronies are trying to force upon our proudly conservative state,” Beeker said.
With voter turnout expected to be as low as 5% for the Republican runoff elections five weeks from today, Beeker is hoping that the support of his former rivals will help push him over the top.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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