Appointed Alabama Sen. Luther Strange may be in for quite a crowded Aug. 15 GOP primary for the final years of Jeff Sessions’ Senate term. Strange attracted scorn from fellow Republicans for accepting an appointment from then-Gov. Robert Bentley, even as Strange's attorney general's office was investigating Bentley for covering up a sex scandal. State Rep. Ed Henry, who led the charge to impeach Bentley before the governor resigned in disgrace earlier this month, kicked off his primary bid immediately, and more Yellow Hammer State Republicans are on the move.
On Monday, Randy Brinson announced that he would step down as the head of the Christian Coalition of Alabama and run. Brinson, a gastroenterologist who has led the group since 2006, has connections to the state’s powerful religious conservatives, and he sounds like he will make corruption the main issue of his campaign. However, the Montgomery Advertiser’s Brian Lyman notes that divisions over gambling could hamper Brinson’s bid.
In 2007, the CCA supported legislation that would limit electronic bingo in what Brinson said was an attempt to contain gambling. However, in a very Peoples’ Front of Judea/ Judean People's Front scenario, the group Christian Action Alabama argued that the gambling owners had hijacked the Christian Coalition of Alabama; a few years later, the AP reported that the CCA took $12,500 from groups linked to gambling interests; Brinson claimed not to know where the money originally came from, and said the CCA would stop taking money from PACs. Gambling remains a hot button issue among social conservatives in Alabama, and if Brinson gains enough traction, his primary rivals have a few lines of attack.
On Friday, ex-state Rep. Perry Hooper Jr. announced that he had formed an exploritory committee. As we’ve noted before, Hooper was a finalist for the Senate appointment that ultimately went to Strange. Hooper doesn't look like an especially strong candidate, though. He lost renomination for his state House seat in 2002, and he lost the general election for the state Public Service Commission four years later. Hooper was the co-chair of Donald Trump's state campaign, so maybe he can pick up some support from Trump fanatics, but so was his would-be primary rival, state Rep. Ed Henry.
A number of other Republicans are eyeing this seat, and we won’t need to wait long to hear from perhaps the most infamous of them: Suspended state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who made national headlines in 2015 for defying orders from federal courts to recognize same-sex marriage, says he’ll announce his plans on Wednesday. The state GOP recently set the candidate filing deadline for May 17, so other prospective GOP candidates have a little time to decide. If no one takes a majority in the August primary, there will be a runoff in September.
Alabama is one of the most Republican states in the nation, and it will be very tough for Democrats to score a pickup in the Dec. 12 general. Still, as Scott Brown's 2010 win in deep blue Massachusetts demonstrated, strange things can happen when the political winds are blowing against the president's party, and a bloody GOP primary wouldn’t hurt. The Alabama Political Reporter says that state Rep. Chris England is considering, but he doesn’t appear to have said anything publicly.