Alabama Democrats Encounter the Weirdest Sensation: An Election That Matters
Alabama Democrats Encounter the Weirdest Sensation: An Election That Matters
Alabamians on both sides of the Senate race are feeling, perhaps for the first time, what it’s like to live in a battleground state like Ohio or Florida.
Andrew Desiderio
12.10.17 9:28 AM ET
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Dorothy Autrey had never been to a political rally before Saturday.
Autrey, a native Alabamian and a retired college professor, never really had a reason to. An African-American Democrat, she lives in a state that has in recent years sent—almost exclusively—conservative white men to Washington. And it hasn’t been close.
But this year is different. A nail-biter of a special election for the U.S. Senate in deep-red Alabama has caught the attention of the entire country, with the result—no matter who wins—yielding major implications for President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda heading into 2018 that will affect Americans in every state. And Alabamians on both sides of the Senate race are feeling, perhaps for the first time, what it’s like to live in a battleground state like Ohio or Florida.
This particular election has put a spotlight on certain communities trying to dust off the political cobwebs and, for some members, become engaged in the political process for the first time in decades. On Saturday, Autrey showed up an hour early to Democratic candidate Doug Jones’ rally here on Alabama State University’s campus.
“I’ve voted since I was 18. So this is not my first time having interest in a race. But I never thought I would see a Democrat elected to the Senate from Alabama,” Autrey told The Daily Beast. “The fact that he has a chance is really exciting and I’m hopeful—I pray that he is elected.”
Historically, minority groups in Alabama have not had effective—if any—interactions with the political system. While African-Americans and LGBT people make up a significant bloc of the state’s Democratic electorate, progressives in Alabama are vastly outnumbered. So when Trump nominated then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be attorney general—creating an open Senate seat—few realistically expected that Democrats could have a chance to flip it.
But for the first time in many Alabamians’ lifetimes, those same minority groups are primed to tip the scales to a Democrat in a statewide campaign. And many of them are fired up not necessarily because of Jones—but because of his opponent, former Alabama State Supreme Court judge Roy Moore.
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https://www.thedailybeast.com/alabama-dems-encounter-the-weirdest-sensation-an-election-that-matters
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