Tracy “T.O.” Crane, former candidate, endorses Gerald Dial in Ag Commissioner runoff
A former Republican candidate for the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Tracy “T.O.” Crane threw his support behind Gerald Dial in the office’s runoff election on Wednesday. Crane, who failed to garner enough votes to win the nomination, made the decision to endorse Dial over Rick Pate after assessing the two runoff candidates’ experience, background, and vision for Alabama’s largest industry – agriculture and forestry. “Gerald Dial is an honorable man who will fight the status quo at the Department of Agriculture and Industries,” stated Crane. “I support Gerald Dial in the Republican runoff election on July 17, and I ask my 55,000 supporters to do the same. With Gerald Dial, we can count on food safety and economic growth being at the top of his agenda.” Crane is a 5th-generation farmer from north Jefferson County. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for almost twenty years out of the Birmingham, Ala. field office. Early in his career, he worked with the Office of Independent Counsel on the Whitewater Investigation in Little Rock, Ark., which investigated President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton. “Tracy Crane is one of the leading experts of food safety in the world. His endorsement of my campaign is important to every Alabama family that cares about the safety of our food, a major component of the Agriculture Commissioner’s job,” commented Dial. Dial faces Pate in the July 17 runoff election. In the primary, Pate took home 40.37 percent of the vote, to Dial’s 29.98 percent. “When you go vote on July 17th, keep your family’s safety in mind and vote for Gerald Dial for Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. Alabama can’t afford any other choice,” Crane concluded.
10 Commandments judge Roy Moore forces runoff in Alabama Senate race
Alabama’s Ten Commandments judge, Roy Moore, has forced President Donald Trump‘s chosen candidate, Sen. Luther Strange, into a September primary runoff that pits cultural conservatives against the Republicans now running Congress. Evangelical voters cherish Moore as a culture-war icon after he was twice stripped of his chief justice duties, for refusing to remove a biblical monument he installed in a state judiciary building and for resisting federal gay marriage rulings. On Tuesday, the firebrand jurist rode a tide of anti-establishment sentiment to secure more votes than Strange for the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Despite millions of dollars in advertising by a super political action committee tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Strange trailed Moore by about six percentage points, which was about 25,000 votes in the low-turnout election, according to unofficial returns. “This is a great victory. The attempt by the silk stocking Washington elitists to control the vote of the people of Alabama has failed,” Moore said at his victory party in downtown Montgomery, where a copy of the Ten Commandments was among the decorations. The winner of the Sept. 26 runoff between Moore and Strange will face Democratic nominee Doug Jones in a December election. While President Donald Trump endorsed Strange, Moore tried to present himself as the better carrier of Trump’s outsider appeal. “The takeaway is that Washington is very unpopular,” said Greg Strimple, a Republican pollster for a political action committee aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan. “Voters still want change,” Strimple said, and Trump cannot simply “transfer his brand” to candidates who fail to establish their own outsider credentials. Strange emphasized Trump’s endorsements, delivered via Twitter and in recorded phone calls to voters – in the state where Trump remains deeply popular among GOP voters. “He knows I’m the person in this race who is going to help him make this country great again,” Strange said, thanking Trump Tuesday night. He said the runoff will show “who is best suited to stand with the people of this country – with our president – to make sure we make America great again.” Trump tweeted congratulations Wednesday to both Moore and Strange “for being the final two.” “Exciting race!” the president wrote. Strange was Alabama’s attorney general before being appointed to the Senate by Gov. Robert Bentley, who soon resigned in scandal. Strange said he did Bentley no favors, but his challengers questioned the ethics of seeking the appointment while investigating the governor. Moore has a loyal following among evangelicals, but is a polarizing figure. His harshest critics call him the “Ayatollah of Alabama” and accuse him of intertwining his personal religious beliefs and judicial responsibilities. Moore wore his ousters from the bench as badges of honor, telling Republican voters they are like battle scars. “He’s the only one who hasn’t been talking crap about the others,” said Jimmy Wright, who voted for Moore in rural Gallant in northeast Alabama. But in Montgomery, retired teacher Tommy Goggans said he voted to try to keep Moore from winning. “He’s been kicked out of everything he’s done.” Jones, the Democratic nominee, served as a U.S. attorney during the Clinton administration and is backed by former Vice President Joe Biden. He’s perhaps best known for leading the prosecution that finally resulted in convictions for two Klansmen in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four little girls. Alabama hasn’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 20 years, but Jones says they can’t concede without a fight. “I think there are enough people in the state who are yearning for new leadership and a change,” Jones said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Selma mayoral race heads to a runoff
Selma voters winnowed the crowded field of five mayoral candidates down to two at the ballot box Tuesday. State Rep. the Rev. Darrio Melton and former Selma mayor Rev. James Perkins, Jr. will face off Oct. 4 in a runoff election. While the official results are not in, the unofficial results have Melton with 35 percent of the vote and Perkins with 30 percent. Incumbent Mayor George Evans, who is nearing the end of his second term, will definitively finish in third place with 18 percent of the vote, writing the end of his mayoral career. Eight years ago, Evans defeated Perkins for the position.
Election 2016: Alabama
Alabama voters returned to the polls Tuesday to decide runoff races 41 of Alabama’s 67 counties to choose party nominees for the November General Election. Only races that didn’t have a majority of votes in the March 1, 2016 Primary Election held a runoff election. By Alabama law, a candidate must receive of at least 50 percent to be declared a winner and avoid a runoff. Statewide Results State Board of Education: Member District 1 Matthew Brown: 38.6% Jackie Zeigler: 61.4% – WINNER State Board of Education: Member District 7 Jim Bonner: 37.9% Jeff Newman: 62.1% – WINNER Circuit Court Judge, 10th Judicial Circuit: Place 11 Brendette Brown Green: 51.6% – WINNER Linda Hall: 41.4% Circuit Court Judge, 10th Judicial Circuit: Place 25 Roderick “Rod” Evans: 27.1% Reginald L. Jeter: 72.8% – WINNER Circuit Court Judge, 10th Judicial Circuit: Place 26 Michael Steely: 53.5% – WINNER Everett W. Wess: 46.5% Circuit Court Judge, 18th Judicial Circuit: Place 4 Lara McCauley Alvis: 51% – WINNER Patrick Kennedy: 49% District Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit Patrick B. “Pat” Jones: 56.4% – WINNER Gary Ray Maxwell: 43.6% For specific county results, please visit the Alabama Votes website.
