The Other McCain

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Barber Makes AL-2 GOP Runoff

Posted on | June 2, 2010 | 11 Comments

Tea Party candidate Rick Barber was outspent 7-to-1 by the GOP establishment’s choice Martha Roby in Alabama’s 2nd District Republican primary but was able to force the Montgomery councilwoman to a runoff.

Roby got 48 percent in Tuesday’s primary — less than the majority needed to avoid a July 13 runoff — while Barber got 28 percent and state school board member Stephanie Bell got 21 percent.

“This experience has been thrilling, overwhelming, exhilarating, but, most of all, humbling,” Barber said in a statement. “When I entered this race, nearly all of the pundits were saying that I had no chance. To force a runoff with an opponent who had national endorsements behind her is just amazing.”

Barber noted that Roby, backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, had spent more than $500,000 on her campaign.

“Throughout the campaign, we’ve been broke . . . We’re not intimidated by Martha’s money,” said Barber, a former Marine.

“Being forced into a runoff won’t help Roby’s image on the campaign trail,” Congressional Quarterly commented, adding that Roby “had been a highly touted candidate.”

Now the Republicans have a six-week campaign for the runoff, with the winner to face “Blue Dog” Democrat Rep. Bobby Bright in November.

UPDATE: Elsewhere in the Alabama primary, Rep. Artur Davis lost his bid to become the state’s first black governor, losing the Democratic primary to agriculture commissioner Ron Sparks. In the GOP gubernatorial primary, Bradley Byrne advanced to the runoff, but a recount may be needed to determine whether Byrnes’ runoff opponent is Robert Bentley or Tim James.

In the 5th District GOP primary, party-switching Rep. Parker Griffith was defeated by Madison County commissioner Mo Brooks. Former Navy pilot Les Phillip placed third.

Dale Peterson, whose get-tough ad made him an Internet hero, finished third in the GOP primary for agriculture commissioner.

State attorney general Troy King lost the GOP primary to challenger Luther Strange.

Category: Alabama, Election, Republicans, Tea Party

Comments

11 Responses to “Barber Makes AL-2 GOP Runoff”

  1. Joe
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 12:20 pm

    Dale Peterson finished third?

  2. Joe
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 7:20 am

    Dale Peterson finished third?

  3. Brian O'Connor
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 1:06 pm

    (R) John McMillan 150,437 37%
    (R) Dorman Grace 144,747 35%
    (R) Dale Peterson 116,541 28%

    Best Commercial, not the best candidate.

    Barber has a tough row to hoe (49% Roby, 29% Barber).

  4. Brian O'Connor
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 8:06 am

    (R) John McMillan 150,437 37%
    (R) Dorman Grace 144,747 35%
    (R) Dale Peterson 116,541 28%

    Best Commercial, not the best candidate.

    Barber has a tough row to hoe (49% Roby, 29% Barber).

  5. The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Alabama Voters Reject Griffith, Davis
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 10:00 am

    […] establishment also got a shock in Alabama's 2nd District, where the National Republican Congressional Committee's hand-picked candidate Martha Roby […]

  6. Tea Party Candidates Struggle on Tuesday « Red Dog Report
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 11:33 am

    […] The one Tea Party “success” in Tuesday’s Republican primaries was Rick Barber in AL-02. Unfortunately, Barber’s success was tempered by the fact that his distant second place finish on Tuesday does not hold much promise for the runoff on July 13th; Barns received 29% of the vote, far behind Martha Roby’s 49%.  Barber was endorsed by Tea Party Leader Michael Johns, Atlas Shrugs’ Pamela Geller and RedState.com’s Erick Erickson.  Minimal results for a candidate with such high profile backing. […]

  7. Parker Griffith Defeated in Alabama Primary | REPUBLICAN REDEFINED
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 2:46 pm

    […] was jumping on the bandwagon of Tea Party activism and striking while the iron was hot – but found no love once his tail hit the seat. […]

  8. RickS
    June 3rd, 2010 @ 1:33 am

    James lost big in Montgomery, Elmore, and Autauga counties, garnering only about 20% of the vote there. This is probably attributable to his failure to appear at a debate against Bradley Byrne–which James had requested–on a popular local talk radio program. James was widely panned in the press for his failure to appear. At the time he was 10% ahead of Byrne and likely did not want to risk being called on the carpet regarding his close association with the Alabama Education Association’s “True Republican PAC.” BTW, there were ~490,000 GOP votes cast last night, compared to just ~319,000 Democrat…in a state that hasn’t had a GOP legislature since 1870.

  9. RickS
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 8:33 pm

    James lost big in Montgomery, Elmore, and Autauga counties, garnering only about 20% of the vote there. This is probably attributable to his failure to appear at a debate against Bradley Byrne–which James had requested–on a popular local talk radio program. James was widely panned in the press for his failure to appear. At the time he was 10% ahead of Byrne and likely did not want to risk being called on the carpet regarding his close association with the Alabama Education Association’s “True Republican PAC.” BTW, there were ~490,000 GOP votes cast last night, compared to just ~319,000 Democrat…in a state that hasn’t had a GOP legislature since 1870.

  10. Alabama Tea Party Activist Suspects Corruption in $50 Million Contract : The Other McCain
    July 3rd, 2010 @ 11:55 am

    […] Dog” Democrat Rep. Bobby Bright. She fell short of a majority in the June 1 primary and got pushed into July 13 runoff by Tea Party-backed candidate Rick Barber. And it looks like Roby’s friends in Montgomery city government are trying to run out the […]

  11. July 13TH: GET OUT THE VOTE FOR RICK BARBER AGAINST CORRUPT ROBY « CWN – Conservative Watch News
    July 4th, 2010 @ 1:52 am

    […] Dog” Democrat Rep. Bobby Bright. She fell short of a majority in the June 1 primary and got pushed into July 13 runoff by Tea Party-backed candidate Rick Barber. And it looks like Roby’s friends in Montgomery city government are trying to run out the clock […]