MOBILE, Ala. (CN) — Perhaps the biggest storyline of Alabama’s election year came on May 24, when incumbent Governor Kay Ivey defeated a crowded field of eight Republican challengers to win the primary election outright without a runoff.
At 77 years old, Ivey is the nation’s oldest governor, but like seven other constitutional officers in the state, she is limited to two terms. She was elected to her first full term in 2018.
Ivey, the former lieutenant governor, ascended to the governor’s office in 2017 upon the resignation of Robert Bentley, who was convicted of two misdemeanors related to an extramarital affair. Alabama has not had a Democratic governor since 2003, when incumbent Don Siegelman was narrowly defeated by Republican Bob Riley.
In the nearly two decades since, Republicans have only consolidated power statewide, capturing not only every office in the executive branch, but also on the state’s appellate courts. Since 2011, Republicans have also controlled a majority of both houses of the Legislature.
Meanwhile, the Alabama Democratic Party has not fielded a viable candidate for statewide or national office since former U.S. Senator Doug Jones in 2017, whose campaign was assisted by allegations his challenger, far-right former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, pursued teenage girls well into his 30s. But Jones himself lasted just one term in office. He was defeated by Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, in 2020.
Aside from that anomaly, in recent years, statewide elections are often decided in the primaries.
For Democrats, Tuesday's primary runoff election features a single campaign, the race between Yolanda Flowers and Malika Fortier for the gubernatorial nomination to take on Ivey in the general election.
The Republican ballot is where most of the action is, as voters will cast their ballots to replace Republican Senator Richard Shelby, the fourth-longest serving member of the U.S. Senate.
The leading candidate in the May primary election was Katie Britt, Shelby’s former chief of staff who went on to serve four years as the leader of the politically influential Business Council of Alabama. Britt garnered 44.7% of the vote from a field of six candidates, winning in 62 of Alabama’s 67 counties. Her runoff opponent is conservative firebrand Mo Brooks, a six-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who is best known for his adamant defense of former President Donald Trump.
Brooks, whose campaign was at one point endorsed by Trump, notably stood by the former president as he contested the results of the 2020 election, even making a speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, on the Ellipse, in which he encouraged “American patriots” to “start taking down names and kicking ass" just before the Capitol riot. Brooks has since been subpoenaed by the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, but has refused to cooperate.
Trump has since distanced himself from Brooks. In March, the former president publicly rescinded his endorsement of Brooks and, after the primary election, threw his support behind Britt. In a statement earlier this month, Trump expressed displeasure with recent statements Brooks made suggesting voters should “move on” beyond the 2020 election, while he characterized Britt as a “fearless America First Warrior.”
Brooks claims the results of the primary election were skewed by Democrats. Alabama permits voters, regardless of political affiliation, to choose either the Republican or Democratic ballot at the primary polling place.
But if campaign finance records are any indication, Britt also has far more support from both individual contributors and political action committees. According to the Federal Election Commission, Britt has accepted more than $7.3 million in contributions, compared to slightly more than $3 million contributed to Brooks’ campaign.
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