By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Sunday, July 30, 2017, State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) said that US Senator Luther Strange’s (R-Alabama) strategy for getting elected is to, “rely on millions of dollars in ads paid for by Washington insiders to sway low-information voters.”
Zeigler asked, “If you were appointed by disgraced former Gov. Bentley, who you were supposed to be investigating, how would you try to be elected in Alabama’s US Senate primary?” Zeigler’s answer: “Temporary Sen. Luther Strange is doing it this way: He is counting on millions of dollars in ads paid for by Washington Insiders to sway ‘low-information voters.’”
State Auditor Jim Zeigler has been a long-time critic of both former Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) and Luther Strange, both as State Attorney General and as US Senator.
Zeigler explained his theory this way: “If a voter knows that Strange was appointed by disgraced Gov. Robert Bentley, that voter tends to vote against Strange. If a voter knows that Strange was supposed to have Bentley under investigation when he accepted the senate appointment from Bentley, that voter tends to vote against Strange. If a voter knows that Strange asked the state house impeachment panel to halt the Bentley impeachment on Nov. 3, that voter tends to vote against Strange. If a voter knows that Strange is getting millions of ad money from Washington Insiders, that voter tends to vote against Strange. So who does that leave? The voters that Strangites call ‘low-information voters’ who do not know any of these facts.”
Zeigler claimed that Senator Strange’s strategy involves: “Run ads claiming that Strange is for Trump and Strange is conservative – and both those claims are subject to debate. Spend Washington millions to reach voters who do not know how Strange got the appointment as US Senator and hope there are more ‘low-information voters’ than there are informed voters.”
Zeigler said, “Alabama folks who do know how Strange got the appointment from Bentley – and who know about Strange’s millions of Washington money – need to inform everyone about these facts. Voters who know can spread the word to others. This is called a grassroots campaign from the bottom up as opposed to Strange’s Washington-down campaign.”
Zeigler has announced that he is currently exploring running for Governor in 2018 and will make the decision on whether to run for Governor or seek re-election as state Auditor. The Major Party Primary in the Gubernatorial election is on June 5, 2018.
Nine Republicans are running for the US Senate for the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions (R) when he became US Attorney General. They include: James Paul Beretta, Joseph F. Breault, Randy Brinson, Mo Brooks, Mary Maxwell, Roy Moore, Bryan Peeples, Trip Pittman, and Luther Strange.
Seven Democratic candidates are running in the U.S. Senate Special Primary Election. Qualified candidates are Will Boyd, Vann Caldwell, Jason Fisher, Michael Hansen, Doug Jones, Robert Kennedy, Jr., and Charles Nana.
Dom Gentile (R) and Brian McGee (D) both dropped out of the race.
The Special Major Party Primaries are on August 15, 2017. The Major Party Runoffs will be on September 26, 2017. The Special General Election will be on December 12, 2017.
