afterlife2009
Superstar
Sessions replacement: Who are the Alabama Senate primary candidates?
highlights of some of the candidates, because there's 16 in that article. some of the candidates write up had me
Michael Hansen, Democrat
Michael Hansen, 35, said his Senate bid is a “long shot” – but it’s a shot he’s willing to take anyway.
Hansen, executive director of the health advocacy group Gasp, is openly gay and a Democrat.
In a Medium blog post announcing his run, Hansen noted that “folks are sick and tired.” He specifically noted the stereotypes that liberals, conservatives, Christians, people of color, men and white people face.
“Our list of grievances with one another goes on and on, and it’s unsustainable,” he said.
In the Senate, Hansen said he would fight for a federal law to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination, fight against policies that would systematically oppress people of color and advocate for funding family planning services, including Planned Parenthood.
Mary Maxwell, Republican
Mary Maxwell specifically moved to Alabama to run for the open Senate seat – all the way from Australia.
She told AL.com that she learned about the election from a Yahoo News article and decided that, after spending several decades in Australia, it was time for a move. In June, Maxwell became an Alabama resident.
Maxwell, 70, is a unique candidate – she travels the state by Greyhound bus because she doesn’t want to drive on the right-hand side of the road, she’s written about mind control and teen etiquette and she sued former President George W. Bush and Vice President dikk Cheney over the administration attacking Iran and Syria without a declaration of war.
Maxwell was born in Massachusetts where she lived until she moved to Australia with her late-husband in 1980.
"I don't mind admitting that as a Northerner, the South wasn't there for me," she told AL.com. "We don't see it, we don't think about it. I was never thinking about Alabama, I'll admit."
Maxwell said she “hangs out in front of Walmarts when [she] can, distributing copies of the Bill of Rights, usually warmly received,” according to her campaign website. She said she is against war, mandatory vaccinations and privatizing prisons.
She also would like to audit the Federal Reserve System and “would look into government bullying” as a senator.Roy Moore, Republican (Straight fukkery with this dude)
Judge Roy Moore recently served as the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court but was suspended in September 2016 from chief justice for violating the canons of judicial ethics. Prosecutors said Moore told probate judges to defy the Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
Moore said on his Senate campaign website that he retired to seek the office in 2017 and addressed the controversy by saying that he was suspended for “upholding the sanctity of marriage as between one man and one woman.”
Moore advocated for using the military to protect the country’s southern border, immediately repealing ObamaCare and making homosexuality against military policy on his campaign website.
He is also opposed to abortion, federal funding to Planned Parenthood, same-sex marriage, civil unions and “all other threats to the traditional family order.”
Doug Jones, Democrat
A former federal prosecutor, Doug Jones said he hopes to return to the public office.
On his campaign website, Jones criticized Trump for withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate change agreement. He also said he supports “a woman’s right to choose” and supports Planned Parenthood.
“The shenanigans around the 2016 campaign must be pushed aside and full equality for women made the law and the norm in America,” he said.
Thus far, Jones has raised more than $158,000 for his campaign, AL.com reported. That’s only about half as much as some of the top GOP candidates, but it’s most likely more than any of his fellow Democrats, according to the newspaper.
Robert Kennedy Jr., Democrat
No, he’s not related to the famous political family. But Robert Kennedy Jr., does hope to become a lawmaker.
Kennedy attended Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and was stationed in Japan with the Navy. He spent nine years on active duty.
AL.com reported that Kennedy, 47, remained fairly private during an interview and declined to reveal certain personal details about his life, including his job.
His campaign website simply said Kennedy “launched his civilian career in the casino industry, and subsequently transitioned into retail.”
“I’m a fiscally responsible Democrat who leads with faith,” Kennedy said on his website. He told AL.com that he considers himself to be a “conservative Democrat” who supports gun rights.
But he also supports keeping and fixing ObamaCare and abortion rights, according to his website.
Despite staying fairly private about certain details, Kennedy led the field of Democrats in a recent WBRC-TV poll with 49 percent. Jones trailed with 28 percent.
Luther Strange, Republican
Strange currently holds Sessions’ old seat, as he was appointed by the governor to finish out Sessions' term. But Strange hopes to keep the office he was given.
Before his Senate appointment, Strange was Alabama’s attorney general and joined a lawsuit against the Obama administration that challenged Obama's executive order on amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
Strange said he “stands with President Trump and looks forward to working with the new administration to achieve landmark conservative success,” on his campaign website. He also supports repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act and calls for immediate deportation of criminal undocumented immigrants and the construction of a border wall.
Strange raised $1.8 million in just three months, AL.com reported in July. He’s endorsed by the National Rifle Association and Perry Hooper Jr., the Alabama Trump Victory chairman.
Charles Nana, Democrat
Businessman Charles Nana immigrated to the U.S. from Cameroon in West Africa, and he splits his time between his job in Nashville and his home in Birmingham, AL.com reported.
He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Senate last year.
“[Nana] is deeply troubled by the way faith is being used by some to serve hate, racism and greed,” his campaign website states.
Nana advocates for a “new fresh wind,” which includes free education through college.
“If we can contemplate building a wall with Mexico, we can surely afford giving our children free education from Pre-K to college
,” he said on his website.Nana considers himself a “Berniecrat”
,” according to AL.com.
