The Race To Succeed Everett

Rep. Terry Everett’s (R-Ala.) retirement opens up a seat that is in the heart of the rural South, where the Republicans still hold overwhelming electoral advantages. Even George C. Wallace III, son of the state’s former governor, couldn’t defeat Everett when he ran against him as a Democrat in 1992. (Wallace, now a Republican, later served as the state’s Public Service Commissioner.)

The district gave President Bush 67 percent of the vote in 2004, and 61 percent in 2000.  Since 1992, no Democrat has offered even a remotely serious challenge.

But Democrats are hopeful that they can be competitive in Everett’s seat. They cite the district’s growing African-American population, and migrants from New Orleans as altering the district’s demographics enough to make it competitive -- with the right candidate.

They are hoping that candidate is Montgomery mayor Bobby Bright, who has helped revitalize the city’s downtown since taking over in 1999. He is registered as an independent. But in a Congressional election where national issues are front-and-center, it will be difficult for any Democrat -- including Bright -- to distance themselves from the party’s platform on hot-button social issues.

In a 2005 interview with the local business journal, Bright hinted that he had Congressional aspirations. “My dream is to represent Alabama or a segment of Alabama in Washington, D.C.,” he said.

All four potential GOP candidates have records as strong conservatives, so the primary will hinge more on geography than ideology. The district’s two population bases are in the Montgomery suburbs and its southeast corner of Dothan.