Alabama Republicans dominate statewide races
As expected, Alabama Republicans won every statewide race. Kay Ivey was easily re-elected, and political newcomer Katie Britt will be the next U.S. Senator from Alabama. Republican incumbents Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, Attorney General Steve Marshall, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate, and Treasurer Young Boozer were easily re-elected. Republican State Representatives Wes Allen and Andrew Sorrell won the open Secretary of State and Auditor races. Republicans also held their supermajorities in both Houses of the Legislature and won the open State Supreme Court Justice race. Ivey won by an even larger percentage than in 2018 in 2022. Ivey had 69.9% of the vote as of press time. Yolanda Flowers’ 29.2% performance was the worst performance by a Democratic nominee in memory. Ivey improved her percentage victory by over 10% (69.9% versus 59.5%) of the vote; but actually had fewer votes than four years ago – 944,845 in 2022 versus 1,022,457 in 2018. Ivey’s two landslide victories makes her the most popular Republican governor in state history. Yolanda Flowers only received only 411,269 votes, whereas Walt Maddox received 694,495 votes. Ivey is the first Republican woman to serve as Governor of Alabama. She was already the longest-serving woman governor in state history and the first woman in state history to be re-elected as governor. Ivey won the 2022 election for governor, the 2018 election for governor, the 2014 election for Lieutenant Governor, the 2010 election for Lieutenant Governor, the 2006 election for State Treasurer, and the 2002 election for State Treasurer. This unprecedented run makes Ivey the most successful woman politician in the history of Alabama. Ivey, age 78, is also the oldest governor in the state’s history. Election night was hugely disappointing for Libertarians. While they did get ballot access for the first time since 2022, none of their candidates were able to get close to the 20% threshold needed to give the party ballot access in 2024 – even in statewide races where no Democrat even qualified. Gaining ballot access cost the Libertarian Party over $240,000 to get the necessary number of ballot access signatures to be on the ballot. If the party is going to be on the ballot in 2024, they will have to go through the ballot signature process. Libertarian candidate for Governor – Dr. Jimmy Blake, only received 45,825 votes (3.2%). It is unclear where Blake’s voters came from, disgruntled Republicans or Democrats who did not support Flowers. It was not a good night for write-in gubernatorial candidates. Dean Odle and Jared Budlong, representing the far right and far left respectively, received just 9,401 votes (0.67%). Since those votes will not be individually counted, so there is no way to know how many of those votes were Odle’s, Budlong’s, or someone else entirely. In the Senate race, Britt received 940,048 votes (66.6%). Democrat Dr. Will Boyd received 435,428 votes (30.87%). Libertarian John Sophocleus received 32,790 votes (2.32%). 2,454 Alabamians wrote in someone else. Britt is the first woman to win a U.S. Senate race in Alabama. In the Lieutenant Governor’s race, incumbent Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth won in a landslide. Ainsworth had 955,372 votes (83.69%). Libertarian Ruth Page-Nelson had 178,069 votes (15.60%) – far short of the 20% Libertarians needed to guarantee them ballot access in 2024. 8,066 Alabamians (0.71%) wrote in someone else. Incumbent Attorney General Steve Marshall coasted to re-election, receiving 953,284 votes (67.91%) versus 449,193 votes (32%) for Democrat Wendell Major. Major received more votes than any Democrat running statewide. In the Secretary of State’s race, Republican Wes Allen won 923,206 votes (65.9%). Democrat Pamela Lafitte got 435,558 (31.1%), and Libertarian Matt Shelby received 41,480 votes (3%). In the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries race, incumbent Republican Rick Pate cruised to victory 944,021 (84.3%) over Libertarian Jason Clark 169,869 (15%). In the State Treasurer races, Republican incumbent Young Boozer trounced Libertarian Scott Hammond with 944,792 votes (83.75%) to 174,472 votes (15.47%). For State Auditor, Republican Andrew Sorrell won 947,719 votes (84.4%), while Libertarian Leigh Lachine had 166,243 votes (14.81%). For Alabama Supreme Court Place 5, political newcomer Republican Greg Cook won 941,059 votes (67.42%), while Democrat Anita Kelly received 453,518 votes (32.49%). Incumbent Republican Alabama Supreme Court Place 6 Kelli Wise was unopposed winning re-election 995,688 votes (97.51%). For Public Service Commission Place 1, Republican incumbent Jeremy Oden defeated Libertarian Ron Bishop 934,987 (83.73%) to 172,733 (15.47%). For Public Service Commission Place 2, incumbent Republican Chip Beeker received 929,248 votes (83.18%), while Laura Lane had 179,302 votes. Lane received more votes than any other Libertarian, but her 16.1% was still far below the 20% threshold that the Libertarians needed statewide. The Alabama Republican Party also retained its supermajorities in both Houses of the Legislature. Democrats flipped one Alabama House seat in Montgomery County (Charlotte Meadows), while Republicans flipped one Democratic seat in the Wiregrass (Dexter Grimsley). These numbers are all unofficial results from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Election 2022: A look at who’s running on the Alabama ballot
Alabama voters will decide races ranging from U.S. Senate and governor to local offices in Tuesday’s election Polling places and registration status can be found on the secretary of state’s website, at https://myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/voterview. Voter turnout is expected to be moderate, according to a projection by Secretary of State John Merrill. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Here’s a quick look at major statewide races and issues: US SENATE Republican Katie Britt faces Democratic nominee Will Boyd and Libertarian John Sophocleus in the race for the rare open Senate seat in Alabama. Britt is outgoing U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby’s former chief of staff and the former leader of the Business Council of Alabama. Britt was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary and has emphasized border security, concern about the national debt and a need for new voices in Congress. Boyd, a pastor, supports Medicaid expansion and efforts to protect the Voting Rights Act. Sophocleus, a former college economics instructor at Auburn University, supports the abolishment of federal gun laws and the creation of a flat tax. GOVERNOR Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is looking to win a second full term in office as she faces Democrat Yolanda Flowers and Libertarian Jimmy Blake. Ivey avoided a runoff in the spring despite facing eight Republican challengers in the primary. Flowers, an educator, is the first Black woman to win a major party’s gubernatorial nomination in the state. Blake is a physician and a former Birmingham City Council member. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Republican Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth faces Libertarian Ruth Page-Nelson. There is not a Democratic candidate in the race. The lieutenant governor presides over the Alabama Senate. However, the most notable thing about the position is that the lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor leaves office for any reason. Libertarians believe the race is their strongest hope of hitting the 20% vote threshold needed to maintain ballot access in 2024. SECRETARY OF STATE Alabama will elect a new person to the office that oversees elections. Republican Rep. Wes Allen faces Democrat Pamela Laffitte and Libertarian Matt Shelby. Allen, citing security concerns, opposes alternative means of voting such as curbside voting, mail-in voting, or allowing people to vote absentee for any reason. Laffitte supports expanded methods, such as early voting and no-excuse absentee voting, to make voting more convenient. Shelby supports changing Alabama’s stringent ballot access law that has made it difficult for third-party candidates to run. He also supports alternative systems such as ranked-choice voting. ATTORNEY GENERAL Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall faces Democrat Wendell Major. Marshall is seeking his second full term as Alabama attorney general. His campaign has emphasized his role in lawsuits challenging vaccine mandates and other policies of President Joe Biden’s administration. Major is the police chief of Tarrant. He has emphasized the need to address the state’s opioid crisis and mental health crisis. OTHER RACES — In the state treasurer’s race, Republican incumbent Young Boozer faces Libertarian Scott Hammond. — In the state auditor’s race, Republican Andrew Sorrell faces Libertarian Leigh Lachine. — In the race for commissioner of agriculture and industries, Republican incumbent Rick Pate faces Libertarian Jason Clark — In the races for Public Service Commission, Republican incumbents Jeremy Oden and Chip Beeker face challenges from Libertarians Ron Bishop and Laura Lane. — In the race for Alabama Supreme Court, Place 5, Republican Greg Cook faces Democrat Anita Kelly. NEW CONSTITUTION Alabama voters will decide whether to ratify the Alabama Constitution of 2022 that removes racist language, such as references to segregated schools and an interracial marriage ban. It also reorganizes the document, which has been amended nearly 1,000 times, to remove repealed provisions and make it more user-friendly. However, it makes no changes to how government operates. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS There are 10 proposed statewide constitutional amendments. Those include Amendment 1, which would give judges more discretion to deny bail to people accused of violent crimes. Amendment 10 is a companion amendment to the ratification vote that would allow new amendments to be placed within the document. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Montgomery family court judge suspended without pay
A Montgomery Family Court judge has been reprimanded and suspended without pay after the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) decided on her punishment Friday afternoon, following a week of testimony. Judge Anita Kelly‘s suspension will last 180 days, but can be reversed at the 90-day mark if she follows specific instructions from the court. “There was no evidence introduced that Judge Kelly was ever involved in any sort of graft, corruption, scandal, or wrongful conduct other than the alleged pattern and practice delays,” the court’s order stated. “There is no evidence indicating that she intentionally did anything to harm anyone, most importantly the children impacted by her court.” In August of 2017, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission filed a complaint against Kelly, accusing her of repeated violations of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics, citing more than six hundred family court cases showing what they believed as Kelly’s inability to handle her docket. She was accused of “unreasonable and unjustifiable delay in handling her docket in Family Court,” and faced six charges according to WSFA, including: Delay in Issuing TPR orders-Failing or refusing to timely enter orders within 30 days of completing trials on petitions for termination of parental rights Delay in Completing TPR Trials-Failing or refusing to complete the trial on a petition for termination of parental rights within 90 days of perfecting service Failure to Manage Dockets-Failing or refusing to manage court dockets to decide pending matters in a timely manner-failing or refusing to allocate sufficient time on her dockets to hear pending matters in one setting, regularly continuing dockets, unreasonable delays in setting timely hearings, unreasonable delays in resetting continued trial settings-preventing the timely resolution of disputes that profoundly affected the lives of those, in particular children, whose interests were before her court Delay in Final Divorce Decrees and Modifications-Unreasonable and unjustifiable delay or failure to rule on completed applications for uncontested-divorce complaints and requests for modification of divorce decrees, many of which included agreed-up proposed orders, thereby preventing the timely resolution of disputes that profoundly affected the lives of those, in particular children, whose interests were before her court Comprehensive Delay, Including but not Limited to Matters Charged in Charges 1 – 4-By failing to take care of the business of the court in a timely, prompt, and efficient manner, as set out in the above-stated facts-including but not limited to TPR petitions, dependency cases, delinquency cases, child support matters, PFA petitions, uncontested divorce cases, modifications of divorce decrees, and such simple matters as affidavits of substantial hardship, simple motions, party agreements, and considerations of referee recommendations-thereby preventing the timely resolution of disputes that profoundly affected the lives of those, in particular children, who interests were before her court Loss of Juvenile Treatment Funds-By failing or refusing to make a timely recommendation to the Montgomery County Commission for a Davis Treatment Center vendor to provide local treatment and care for certain juvenile defendants and thereby losing funds to continue such treatment and care for over four months. Kelly has been off the bench with pay since the original filings in August, and will be reinstated on May 14 serving without pay starting on that date. During the trial, she maintained her innocence, denying any wrongdoing, but the Judicial Inquiry Commission produced multiple witnesses to testify to the delays and failed attempts to help Kelly amend her docket, including retired Montgomery Circuit Judge Charles Price. Price, who was the presiding judge while Kelly was working in the family court, testified that he received complaints, verbally and in writing, from litigants and attorneys about Kelly and the way she ran her courtroom. Price said he spoke to Kelly about the complaints and even showed her, but it produced no changes. “It became abundantly obvious that she was resentful of my help,” Price told WSFA.
