Any notion by Parker Griffith (D-AL – no, make that R-AL) that his still-fresh party switch will pave a clear path to re-election to the US House in Alabama’s 5th District have been quickly laid to rest by a Republican already set to run for the seat. Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks is already measuring out ample lengths of rope with which to tie Griffith to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Brooks has been a commissioner since 1996 and is said to be very popular in his district. He actually welcomes Griffith’s move, saying that local Republicans will not buy into his change of party costume even while relishing the loss of an established Democratic candidate.
Speaking of the likely reaction of local voters to Griffith’s party change, Brooks said, per CQ Politics, “That’s a tough jury to sell, particularly when you’ve voted with Nancy Pelosi 85% of the time. It’s unbelievably good fortune that Parker Griffith would jump into our pool and want to play. … He has just propelled us to favored candidate status.”
Yet another Republican, Les Phillip, figures in the race. Phillip is an African American and veteran of the Navy who has been active in Republican minority outreach programs.
RBR-TVBR observation: So an internecine Republican battle is practically a given here. It remains to be seen if the Democrats will be able to offer another battle in November, but they’ve held this seat for a long time and chances are they will do what they can to keep it in the fold, even if the odds seem to be moving to the red end of the political spectrometer.
