|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CBS 8 POLITICAL ANALYST STEVE FLOWERS
Read Weekly Columns
|
|
|
JUNE 3 ALABAMA PRIMARY RESULTS
ALABAMA VOTER INFORMATION
DEMOCRATIC VP HOT SHEET: WHO MIGHT OBAMA CHOOSE?
REPUBLICAN VP HOT SHEET: WHO MIGHT McCAIN CHOOSE?
|
|
|
|
|
Gov. Bob Riley Says He Didn't Give Permission for Campaign Ad
|
|
From Campaign 2008 -- Alabama Gov. Bob Riley says he did not give GOP District 2 congressional candidate Harri Anne Smith permission to use video clips of him in her latest campaign ad.
The Republican governor says he has not endorsed Smith or her opponent in the GOP runoff for the 2nd congressional district seat. The ad makes it appear as if Riley is personally criticizing Smith's opponent, Jay Love, over his vote earlier this year to block the governor's proposed tax increase on oil companies.
It mixes footage of Riley criticizing the bill's opponents with a narrator accusing Love of putting oil companies before taxpayers.
Riley Press Secretary Tara Hutchison released the following statement: "Given Governor Riley's popularity statewide, it's not surprising that Sen. Smith would want to use video of him in an ad. However, that video was not accessed through the Governor's office and no permission was given to use it. Gov. Riley has not endorsed a candidate and will support the Republican nominee in the fall."
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.)
|
|
|
McCain Shakes Up Campaign Staff
|
|
From Campaign 2008 -- John McCain is shaking up his campaign. He's put adviser Steve Schmidt, a veteran of President Bush's re-election, in control of day-to-day campaign operations after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that he's not made the transition for the general election.
Rick Davis will continue to focus on long-term planning, the vice presidential search, fundraising and the national convention.
Even though McCain clinched his party's nomination three months before Barack Obama won his primary campaign, McCain lags behind Obama in fundraising, organizational structure, and polls. Critics have panned his speeches, said he lacks a cohesive message and questioned his travel itinerary.
For example, he's in Colombia and Mexico this week while Obama is spending the Independence Day week traveling to battleground states and traditional Republican strongholds talking about patriotism, faith and values.
The Democratic Party issued a statement saying: "It's no surprise that John McCain would put a Bush-Cheney veteran in charge of his campaign." The statement says McCain has been promising a third Bush term and relying on money raised by President Bush and his friends."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
|
|
|
Obama Speaks by Phone to Former Pres. Bill Clinton
|
From Campaign 2008 -- The silence between Barack Obama and Bill Clinton has been broken.
Obama's campaign said two men spoke by telephone Monday. It was their first conversation since the Democratic primary campaign ended with Obama defeating the former president's wife.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said they had a "terrific conversation" and that the Illinois senator looks forward to seeing the former president on the campaign trail.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) has been helping Obama by encouraging her supporters to back his campaign. But Obama's relationship with Bill Clinton was more frosty after the former president was one of his harshest critics during the primary race.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
|
|
|
Gloves Come Off for Remaining Republican Candidates in Dist. 2 Congressional Race
|
|
From Campaign 2008 -- The gloves are coming off in the Republican runoff race for Alabama's District 2 Congressional seat. Attacks ads from both Jay Love and Harri Anne Smith have hit TV and radio airwaves.
In the ads, both candidates use Gov. Bob Riley's failed tax plan from five years ago as ammunition against the other.
"I think the voters out there, the constituents in this area really should know the differences between mine and State Rep. Love's record," Smith told CBS 8 News.
"It's a desperate attempt by a desperate campaign to paint a picture that is just not there," Michael Lowry, Love's campaign manager, said.
Smith's TV ad was first to air, with Love's following close behind. In Smith's ad, she attacks him for supporting the failed $1 billion tax hike plan, called Amendment One, in 2003. But even though her campaign says she supported it on the final vote, they say that was only so voters could have the final say. Voters defeated it.
Smith's campaign says the ad is to compare and contrast. Love says it's forced retaliation. Either way, the Alabama Republican Party isn't happy. In a statement to CBS 8 News, Republican Party chairman Mike Hubbard says, "Amendment one is old news and I wish those candidates, instead of beating up on each other and running a negative campaign, would go after Democratic candidate Bobby Bright to keep the seat in Republican hands."
Both Smith's and Love's campaigns say as long as they are battling for a spot on the November ballot on July 15th, we'll most likely be seeing and hearing more ads.
|
|
|
Democrats Say District 3 Congressional Race is "One to Watch"
|
From Campaign 2008 -- The national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says races for two open U.S. House seats may not be the only Congressional races worth watching in Alabama.
The campaign committee listed Montgomery attorney Josh Segall's bid to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Saks in the 3rd Congressional District as an "emerging race" to watch.
The designation means the party is considering the race as one where they will give money to a candidate trying to win a seat currently held by a Republican.
The Democratic nominee for the open 2nd Congressional District race, Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright, is already slated to receive financial help from what the party calls it's "red to blue" program.
Alabama's other open seat is in the 5th Congressional District, but a Democrat already holds that seat.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
|
|
|
Runoffs Needed in Some Races after June 1 Primary
|
From Campaign 2008 -- The Alabama Republican Party will need a runoff election July 15 to decide two statewide races and two congressional races, but the Democratic Party won't. The Democratic Party decided all of its statewide and congressional races in the June 1 primary election.
About 392,000 voters participated in the primary for a 15 percent voter turnout. That was lower than the 17 percent recorded four years ago.
The executive director of the Alabama Republican Party, Philip Bryan, says the turnout will definitely be lower for the runoff because fewer races will be on the ballot.
Here are the highlights from the Alabama primary elections:
SENATE: Two-term Republican Jeff Sessions wins GOP nod; Vivian Figures takes Democratic nomination.
HOUSE: Democrats Bobby Bright in 2nd and Parker Griffith in 5th win easily; GOP's Jay Love in 2nd and Wayne Parker in 5th lead but are forced into runoffs. Love will face Harri Anne Smith.
COURTS: Clyde Jones wins Democratic nod for Place 1 on criminal appeals court, while GOP's Beth Kellum and Lucie McLemore are in a runoff to oppose him; Mary Windom wins GOP nomination and Aimee Cobb Smith the Democratic nomination for Place 2.
PSC President: Twinkle Cavanaugh falls just short of winning outright and is in runoff with Matt Chancey. The winner will face former Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley in November.
State Board of Education: GOP incumbents Stephanie Bell and Randy McKinney rout well-funded newcomers suspected of being Democrats in disguise.
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.)
|
|
|
Democratic Presidential Race
|
BARACK OBAMA
|
|
|
Republican Presidential Race
|
|
JOHN McCAIN
|
|
© 2008 WAKA. All rights reserved.
|
|
