Democrats Optimistic About 2014 Elections
Four years ago, democrats lost control of the Alabama Legislature, its’ last grasp at power in the state, where the party once ran everything.
With Republicans now firmly in control, do this year’s democratic candidates think they have a shot at winning over more voters?
Some of the top democratic candidates are in town for a conference so we caught up with them. Although the democratic party is financially struggling and in the minority, they’re optimistic about the future and especially this election year.
Parker Griffith is running as a democrat for governor of Alabama. He says the state needs jobs and believes Governor Robert Bentley isn’t producing them.
“The report out today by his very agency says that we are not creating jobs,” he says. “We are last in America in job creation.”
Aside from job creation, Alabama democrats want to win voters over by expanding medicaid, legalizing gambling and taking on government corruption, something Joe Hubbard, who’s running for Attorney General, is very passionate about.
“They’ve had all the power for the past four years and under their watch, corruption has flourished in the state of Alabama,” he says. “We have an Attorney General who has recused himself from the biggest investigations in the state.”
Senator Quinton Ross says republicans are trying to distance themselves from the corruption investigation by running anti-Obama campaigns.
“The question that they have to ask is did Obama make corruption paramount in Montgomery in the legislature? Did Obama cause some of the colleagues that I’ve served with to resign from the legislature?
Congresswoman Terri Sewell tells us she believes more Alabamians will vote democrat this election year.
“We know that the people of Alabama do better under democratic leadership than it does otherwise so too much is at stake for us not to band together and be united.”
And Griffith says that unity is the key to democrats taking control of Alabama government.
“The democratic party looks like Alabama,” he says. “The other party doesn’t look a thing like Alabama and the future doesn’t look a thing like the other party.”
All of these people are running for office so they’re hopeful that democrats can be relevant again but history has shown time and time again that Alabama votes republican.
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