Byrne defeats tea party challenger to win nomination in Alabama
November 6, 2013
Montgomery, Alabama: Former State Senator Bradley Byrne defeated tea party challenger Dean Young in the runoff election yesterday to secure the nomination.[1][2]
The election is being held to replace former Rep. Jo Bonner (R), who resigned to take a position with the University of Alabama system. He had held the seat for six terms.[1][3] After first announcing his resignation in May 2013, he then released a statement on July 23, 2013, that he would resign August 2, 2013, instead of August 15, 2013, as originally planned. This allowed Gov. Robert Bentley to schedule the special election so that a replacement can be elected and seated before the new session of Congress begins in January 2014.[4]
Byrne led in both fundraising and in the polls consistently throughout the campaign.[5][6] Byrne also vastly outraised Young, who ran a low-budget, grassroots-focused campaign. As of October 16, 2013, Byrne raised nearly $690,000 to Young’s $260,000.[7] Byrne was not able, however, to secure the necessary majority of votes to win the nomination in the September 24, 2013 Republican primary, only winning around a third of the overall vote total.[8]
Byrne previously was a member of the Democratic Party until 1997, when he joined the Republican Party.[9]
As the winner of the runoff, Byrne will face Democratic candidate Burton LeFlore, as well as Independent candidates James Hall and Curtis Railey, in the general election on December 17, 2013.[10]
The 1st District is considered a safe Republican seat and has been represented by a Republican since 1964.[11][12] Despite the shortened term, the winner of the special election will face re-election in 2014.[13]
| U.S. House, Alabama District 1 Special Runoff Republican Primary, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Bradley Byrne |
52.5% | 38,150 | ||
| Dean Young | 47.5% | 34,534 | ||
| Total Votes | 72,684 | |||
| Source: Unofficial results via Associated Press[14] | ||||
See also
|
- Alabama's 1st Congressional District special election, 2013
- Alabama elections, 2013
- United States House of Representatives
- Special elections to the 113th United States Congress (2013-2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Politico, "GOP identity crisis plays out in Alabama," accessed November 3, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "Byrne wins Alabama runoff, in victory for GOP business wing," accessed November 5, 2013
- ↑ blog.al.com, "BREAKING: Rep. Jo Bonner resigning from Congress," May 23, 2013
- ↑ Tuscaloosa News, "Jo Bonner to resign two weeks earlier than planned" accessed July 25, 2013
- ↑ Cyngal, "AL-01 Flash Poll – 09/19/13," accessed September 19, 2013
- ↑ WKRG, "Crowded Race Tuesday for Ala. Congressional Race," accessed September 22, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Alabama Republicans in tight duel," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ AP Results, "Alabama Special Election Primary," accessed September 24, 2013
- ↑ UPI.com, "Ex-Democrat top vote-getter in Ala. Republican congressional primary," accessed September 28, 2013
- ↑ Governor of Alabama, "Governor Bentley Announces Court-Approved Timeline for Special Election in 1st Congressional District" accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedmissed - ↑ Roll Call, "Top Republican to Enter Alabama Special Election #AL01" accessed June 10, 2013
- ↑ AL.com, "9 Republicans, 2 Democrats qualify for AL-01 congressional race" accessed August 6, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "Republican Runoff Primary," accessed November 5, 2013
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