Will Alabama Republicans make the same mistake twice?

American Thinker ^ | 07/12/2020 | Kevin Tharp

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Next Tuesday, Alabama Republicans voters will go to the polls for a Senate Republican primary runoff election. Alabama is thought of as a conservative state yet is currently being represented by Democrat Doug Jones. How did that happen? Could the same result happen again?

Approximately three years ago, Republicans nominated Judge Roy Moore to run in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Senator Jeff Sessions when he became the US Attorney General. Judge Moore was a well-known yet controversial figure in Alabama government. And Alabama Republicans decided to make him their candidate for Senate even though other capable candidates were available, including a sitting senator, Luther Strange, who had been appointed by the governor.

I won't belabor all the details of that race here. Alabamans know the history all too well. But ultimately Judge Moore lost an election he should have won.

Yes, Judge Moore would have made a good Senator. But he didn't win. Winning isn't everything but it is necessarily the first step to represent the people of Alabama who are currently being represented by Democrat Doug Jones. Don't get me wrong.

I supported Judge Moore myself because I thought Alabama Republicans knew their state and should have made the right choice. But Alabama Republicans made a mistake. The Moore race became about Judge Moore. Judge Moore was wronged, you say. Even if that is true, and I were to agree with you, he lost an election because the election became about him and his past controversies. And too many Alabamans couldn't support that.

Which brings us to the current runoff. Former Senator Jeff Sessions and former football coach Tommy Tuberville are the two candidates who will face off in the primary election.

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They will do so easily.

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See #6.

The accusations against Moore were easily shown to be fabricated. When that was made clear in one of the rare moment of honest journalism during the Trump Presidency, the national and state GOP turned on Moore.

The leadership of the GOP likes its status quo. Enough that minority status is preferable to them over having a majority not under its thumb. Well, that's how I remember it.