Bright picks up another seat for Dems; defeats Love

By Lance Griffin

Published: November 5, 2008

Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright apparently ended a 44-year Republican stronghold on Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday, defeating Jay Love to end a bruising, expensive campaign.

At 11:50 p.m., Bright held a 1,700 vote lead with 98 percent of the votes counted, putting both candidates at 50 percent.

Bright held the lead for most of the evening, but it tightened late. One of the most significant polling places left unreported at 11:30 p.m. was Westgate Recreation Center in Dothan. Love performed well there and tightened the race even more, but not enough to overcome the deficit.

Bright will replace retiring U.S. Rep. Terry Everett, R-Rehobeth. He joins a solid Democratic majority in the U.S. House, although Bright built his campaign around being an independent voice in Washington.

“Whatever we do, I am determined not to let you down and to represent you to the very max and in an ethical way, that you will be proud,” Bright told supporters in Montgomery.

Love built his campaign around tying Bright to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama, both believed to be unpopular among most 2nd District voters.

“We came just short,” Love said. “We ran a great race but Mayor Bright ran a better race.”

In Houston County, Love had 24,036 votes to Bright’s 16,921 votes.

Bright performed well in Montgomery County, beating Love almost 2 votes to 1. Love won 10 of the 16 counties in the district, including most of the Wiregrass and Autauga and Elmore counties in the northern part of the district. However, Love did not fare as well as Republican presidential candidate John McCain in those counties, meaning many Republican voters crossed party lines to vote for Bright.

Tuesday’s vote ended a brutal campaign that began late last year, moments after Everett announced he would not seek reelection.

Love was the first candidate to enter the race and began forming a team almost immediately. Meanwhile, the Dothan business community began to form a coalition to back a single Republican candidate, deciding to support State Sen. Harri Anne Smith after narrowing the field down to Smith and local businessman Charles Nailen. Officials said they hoped to unite the Wiregrass behind one candidate. However, that didn’t stop Dothan oral surgeon Dr. Craig Schmidtke from jumping into the race. Another Dothan resident, John Martin, entered as well.

By the time the qualifying deadline passed, six Republicans were fighting for the nomination. Love and Smith made it to the runoff and a nasty campaign ensued that prompted Everett to take the unusual step of publicly asking them to tone down their negative advertising. Love defeated Smith for the nomination, and had spent almost $1 million before the end of the primary campaign.

Meanwhile, Bright cruised to the Democratic nomination without serious opposition, then received the endorsement of two Wiregrass Republicans — Smith and Dothan Mayor Pat Thomas.

Overall, more than $5 million was spent during the race, including an influx of cash from the national party committees and other interests.