Ala.: Republicans Pick Up Heflin's Democratic Seat

MOBILE, Ala. (AllPolitics, Nov. 5) -- Republican State Attorney General Jeff Sessions prevailed over Democratic state Sen. Roger Bedford in the closely watched race for the seat of Howell Heflin, who is retiring.

Republicans thought they could count on a clear victory in conservative Alabama with the retirement of three-term Democratic Sen. Heflin retiring. But Sessions ran an unexpectedly lackluster campaign that left an opening for Bedford.

Sessions in 1994 unseated a Democratic attorney general, who had been targeted by the GOP after putting Republican Gov. Guy Hunt (1987-93) in jail on corruption charges. This made Sessions the fair-haired boy of the Alabama GOP, which has been gathering strength rapidly but still lacks figures of statewide stature.

His strong conservative stances on both social and fiscal issues appealed to the Alabama electorate, but Sessions struggled to persuade voters outside the ranks of the party faithful to support him. For the most part, he limited his personal appearances to large gatherings of Republicans, and he appeared stiff on television.

By contrast, Bedford, who claimed that Sessions was ducking debates, showed up to shake hands at seemingly every barbecue festival in the state. Bedford, an indefatigable campaigner, proved equally tireless at fund-raising and matched Sessions in the money chase.

Bedford ran to the left of his main Democratic primary opponent, 3rd District Rep. Glen Browder, and he counted on the support of such traditional Democratic constituencies as trial lawyers, teachers and blacks. He listed funding for education as one of his top priorities.

In an effort to reach out to moderate voters, Bedford ran a TV ad boasting of his votes in support of eight balanced state budgets, even though state law mandates a balanced budget.

Sessions' campaign belittled Bedford's efforts to portray himself as a "Reagan Democrat." Sessions noted that Bedford was a convention delegate for Democratic presidential candidates in both the years Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency.

The race was virtually bereft of discussion of major issues, whether national concerns or traditional Alabama stumping on peanut subsidies and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Bedford criticized Republican efforts to revise the Medicare program, but mainly the two candidates filled the airwaves with negative personal attacks.

Surrogates in the Sessions camp, including Montgomery Mayor Emory Folmar, attacked Bedford for supporting a moment of silence instead of a constitutional amendment to allow prayer in public schools. Sessions won much of his early backing from social conservatives, based on his support for such an amendment.

Sessions also derided Bedford for accepting donations from trial lawyers. He blamed Bedford for stopping a tort overhaul bill during a special state senate session in January.

Bedford, alternatively, seized on some voters' unhappiness that Sessions was pursuing the Senate seat so closely on the heels of being elected as attorney general. Bedford also criticized Sessions' handling of the office and the work he has given to outside attorneys.

Congressional Quarterly contributed to this report.

Related Links:

• Alabama State Profile