State will have two congressional seats open on fall ballot

Montgomery - Alabama will have two open congressional seats on the ballot this fall now that U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer has decided not to seek a 10th term.

U.S. Rep. Terry Everett, R-Rehobeth, announced his retirement after eight terms but his district in the Wiregrass has been Republican since 1964 and is likely to remain so.

That leaves Cramer's seat the one that Republicans believe they can change from the blue to the red column. Democrats aren't going to give up without a battle.

"It's going to be a fight over that seat," Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Spearman said Friday.

Cramer, 60, of Huntsville, announced Thursday his current ninth term will be his last. The announcement produced outpourings of praise for Cramer and then immediate scrambling by potential successors who have until April 4 to qualify for the June 3 Democrat or Republican primaries.

State Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, a potential candidate, said he met with Cramer on Friday.

"He's just burned out," said Griffith, a physician. Cramer leaves office in January.

Griffith said he plans to visit with political and other leaders in Washington to gauge his chances. He joins about a half-dozen others who either have been asked to or are considering running. Huntsville attorney Ray McKee has qualified as a Republican.

State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, is being courted by Gov. Bob Riley to run as a Republican. Butler said he's meeting with his family this weekend, but he didn't reveal which primary he'd run in if he does.

"Obviously I'm seriously considering it," said Butler. "I've looked at it a long, long time; since 2000."

Others are Huntsville attorney Stan McDonald, a Republican; Public Service Commissioner Susan Parker, of Rogersville, a Democrat; state Rep. Tammy Irons, D-Florence; state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur; state Rep. John Robinson, D-Scottsboro; and Democrat Steve Raby, of Madison County, the former chief of staff for Democratic U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin, of Tuscumbia.

"Everybody is considering it, and there will be many people who will have to make a personal decision and a commitment to the race," said Raby, a political consultant.

Irons and Parker both said they have received calls from supporters urging them to run.

"I've talked late into the night about it and prayed about it and am trying to make a decision," Parker said. She is a former state auditor and has been a Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.

"I've made no decision, but I've received a lot of phone calls from all over the state urging me to run for the seat," said Irons, who is in her first full term in the Legislature.

Republicans see this as their best shot at winning six of seven congressional seats in Alabama. Cramer and U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, are the two Democratic congressmen.

The district, consisting of Colbert, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and Madison counties, and the city of Decatur, in Morgan County, voted for President Bush in 2000 and 2004.

Bill Batson, the chairman of the Lauderdale County Republican Party, praised Cramer's service to the district and the Shoals but hopes his successor will be a Republican.

"We've got a better chance than we've ever had," Batson said. "The thing we got going for us is we've got higher Republican votes last time than we ever had ... in the primary we had within 1,000 of the Democrat votes."

Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said he believes Democrats will retain the seat. "In this particular case, the bullpen is deep for the Democratic Party," said Turnham.

Whoever wants to run has until April 4 to qualify with their respective party. The primary is June 3 and the general election is Nov. 4. The new member will take office in early January.

Jess Brown, a government and criminal justice professor at Athens State University, said whoever succeeds Cramer does not need to be what he calls hyper-partisan because billions of dollars of defense and space contracts for Huntsville are at stake.

"We don't need a purely red person or a purely blue person, we need a purple person who can open doors," he said.

"If the Democrats produce a national liberal on economics and lifestyle, my guess is Democrats will lose the seat," Brown said. "If Democrats nominate somewhat of a populist or a liberal on economics but not liberal on issues like abortion and school prayer and guns, that type of Democrat can retain the seat.

"On the Republican side, if Republicans nominate a starched shirt, corporate leader in Huntsville, the Republicans are probably going to lose," he said. "Republicans will need a candidate who is culturally conservative who will need to play in the small towns and crossroads."

Dana Beyerle can be reached at (334) 264-6605 or dtb123@aol.com.