Tuesday night must’ve felt like waking up from a bad dream for Alabama 2nd District U.S. Rep. Martha Roby as she found herself forced into a run-off against former U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright… the man whom she defeated to go to Congress for the first time… back in 2010.
With 59 percent of the precincts reporting, the Associated Press declared Roby in a runoff with Bright, with her 39 percent to his 29 percent.
The two will now go head-to-head once again in the July 17 runoff election having edged out State Rep. Barry Moore Tommy Amason, and Rich Hobson in Tuesday’s Republican primary.
A political price
Roby found herself lambasted by the crowded field of challengers due her 2016 criticism of President Donald Trump after recordings of him making lewd comments were released during his campaign for president.
Roby said then that Trump’s behavior “makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president” and suggested he step aside to let another Republican lead the presidential ticket.
The runoff is the political price Roby has to pay for being one of the few Republicans in the Deep South state to speak out against the president.
Roby’s optimistic
Despite being forced into a runoff, Roby remains optimistic.
“I am grateful for the strong support my campaign has received, and I look forward to continuing to discuss my proven record as a conservative Republican for the next six weeks. We have run this race before,” said Roby. “The people who live and work in Alabama’s Second District rejected the big government, liberal policies that came as a result of the Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi era when they voted to replace Democrat Bobby Bright with a Republican. I am confident they will do so again.”
Roby continued, “Our unified Republican government has accomplished a lot over the last year and a half, and I believe I am best positioned to deliver meaningful results for our military, veterans, farmers, and hardworking Alabamians. I’m eager to continue my work on behalf of the people I represent, and I humbly ask for their continued support on July 17.”
History of AL-02
Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District includes just over half of the state capital, Montgomery, as well as most of the Wiregrass Region in the southeastern part of the state. In 2008, eight-time winner Republican Rep. Terry Everett announced his retirement, creating a vacancy for the seat. Bright ran for the seat as a Democrat and defeated Republican-candidate for State Rep. Jay Love.
Bright, the former mayor of Montgomery, Ala., served only one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 2009-2011, before Roby ran on the Republican ticket and unseated him in the 2010 midterm elections.
