Friday the Kay Ivey for Governor campaign asked in a statement: Does Maddox stand with Alabamians or his liberal party?
The Ivey campaign was also critical of Doug Jones:
“This week, Alabama Senator Doug Jones announced he supports Senate Democrats’ efforts to stonewall Kavanaugh’s confirmation.”
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) today issued a challenge to Maddox:
“Alabamians overwhelmingly support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” Gov. Ivey said. “It’s time for Walt Maddox to answer a simple question: Does he stand with the majority of Alabamians who support confirmation or will he continue to toe his party’s line and support Doug Jones’ efforts to stonewall the confirmation of this conservative judge?”
On Thursday Women for Kavanaugh held a large rally at Hoover Tactical Republicans with local Republican groups.
State Representative Jim Carns, R-Vestavia, urged Sen. Jones to follow the will of the people of Alabama and vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Over one hundred Kavanaugh supporters attended the event and enjoyed speeches, barbecue, and fellowship with like-minded conservatives.
On Sunday afternoon, progressives held their own rally at Birmingham’s Railroad Park to protest against Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court.
Walter “Walt” Maddox is the Mayor of Tuscaloosa and has never run a statewide race before.
Kay Ivey is a veteran Alabama elected leader who was elected Lieutenant Governor twice and state Treasurer twice. Ivey was elevated to the governor’s office in April 2017 when then Governor Robert Bentley (R) resigned over misdemeanor campaign finance violations to avoid impeachment and prosecution.
Alabama is one of the reddest states in the entire country. It has been 20 years since a Democrat was elected governor. Birmingham area attorney Doug Jones (D) defeated former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) in a special election on December 12, the first Democratic Party victory in a state election in nine years. Jones is the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate since 1996 (Howell Heflin). Jones benefit from sexual misconduct allegations against Judge Moore and from moderate Republicans who argued that Jones was a moderate who could work across the aisle.
Recent polling shows that 56 percent of Alabamians support the nomination, while only 30 percent opposed Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
To win the governor’s race, Maddox needs those moderate Republicans who voted for Doug Jones, or who wrote in a moderate Republican, to defect and vote for him. If Jones votes with the far left on Kavanaugh, Ivey’s campaign hopes that will drive a wedge between moderates and independents and the Democratic ticket.
On the other hand, if Maddox endorses Kavanaugh and Doug Jones votes to confirm Donald J. Trump’s pick to the U.S. Supreme Court, progressives fear that move could depress turnout from their far left base.
The Brett Kavanaugh hearing begin in the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 4.
Senator Jones has said that timetable does not give him enough time to review all of the documents from Judge Kavanaugh’s career on the bench, in the George W. Bush Administration, and working for the Whitewater investigation.
The November election will be on September 6.
