Primary Political Potpourri

By Steve Flowers, Guest Columnist

Now that the dust has settled on the primaries, allow me to share with you some thoughts on the Alabama political stage.

There is an old saying that says the more things change, the more they stay the same. This old adage is true in Alabama politics.

First of all, “All politics is local.”  In the June 5 Primary, the turnout was about 25 percent on the average around the state. However, the ultimate voter turnout was 27 percent due to local races.  Alabamians are more interested in who is sheriff and Probate Judge than who is Lt. Governor or Attorney General.

Secretary of State, John Merrill, predicted a 27 percent turnout on June 5.  Guess what, there was a 27 percent turnout.  Almost 873,000 Alabamians voted.  There were twice as many voters, 590,000, that chose the Republican ballot than the Democratic slate.  There were 283,000 Democratic voters.

What this tells me is that we are still a very red Republican state.  We have 29 elected statewide officeholders in the state.  All 29 are Republican.  When all the votes are counted in November, that 29 out of 29 figure will still be more than likely the same in the Heart of Dixie.  The Democrats have a good horse in Walt Maddox.  He may run close to Kay Ivey, but the odds favor an incumbent GOP Governor who has done nothing wrong and sits in the Governor’s office in a robust economy.  I would put the odds at 56 to 44 in Ivey’s favor.