Alabama Insurance Exec and State Rep. Win Republican Runoffs for Congress

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Alabama State Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery and Huntsville insurance executive Wayne Parker won the Republican nomination for two open U.S. House seats in Alabama that are expected to be closely watched as Democrats seek to strengthen control of the House.

Concluding a bitterly contested runoff campaign, Love received 25,124 votes, or 53 percent, to 22,404, or 47 percent, for state Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb, with 99 percent of precincts reporting in the unofficial count July 15.

Love, 39, will face the Democratic Party nominee, Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright, in the Nov. 4 general election as Democrats try to claim a seat that has been securely in the GOP fold for 44 years.

In the 5th District in north Alabama, with 97 percent of precincts reporting, Parker had 16,028 votes, or 79 percent, to 4,330, or 21 percent, for Huntsville lawyer Cheryl Baswell Guthrie.

Parker, 48, will face the Democratic Party nominee, state Sen. Parker Griffith, in the Nov. 4 general election. The seat has been held by retiring Democratic Rep. Bud Cramer of Huntsville, but the GOP hopes to move it into their column.

The 2nd Congressional District race featured a bitter runoff between Love and Smith, 46.

The two Republican lawmakers finished one-two in a quiet six-candidate race in the June 3 Republican primary, with Love pulling 35.5 percent and Smith 21.8 percent. But in the runoff the two normally mild-mannered lawmakers swapped a series of negative television and radio ads, mostly accusing the other of being soft on taxes.

The race became so heated at one point that Alabama Republican Party chairman Mike Hubbard and retiring incumbent 2nd District Republican Congressman Terry Everett of Rehobeth asked Love and Smith to cool the rhetoric.

But after winning the nomination, Love reached out for Smith’s support and praised her for “running a hard fought race.”

“We share the same desire to give this district quality leadership,” Love said. He said he and Smith plan to get together in the next few days and talk about the November race against Bright.

Love told his supporters at a rally in Montgomery that he wants to continue the Republican leadership Everett has given the district for 16 years.

“I want to provide the leadership for not just my children, but for your children,” Love told his supporters.

Smith also praised Love in a speech to her supporters.

“I have to say we fell a little short tonight,” Smith said. “We all worked hard.”

Bright, the Democratic nominee, grew up in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama and is expected to give his party its best chance of winning the district since Everett was first elected in 1992.

Love is a two-term state representative and serves as minority whip in the House Republican Caucus. He owned 16 Subway sandwich shops in the Montgomery area before selling them in 2005 and now operates a real estate investment company. Smith, serving her 3rd term in the state Senate, is a banker and former mayor of Slocomb in Geneva County in southeast Alabama.

In the 5th District, the race was much quieter, with the limited fireworks coming when Parker declined to debate or appear at forums with Guthrie, 48.

Griffith, a retired physician, is personally wealthy and is expected to have plenty of money to spend on the general election race.

Athens State University political scientist Jess Brown said Griffith is also likely to receive the backing of traditional Cramer supporters in the Democratic leaning district.

“Certainly Parker will make a competitive race out of it,” Brown said. He said Parker also could be helped if presumptive Republican nominee John McCain does well as expected in the district with a strong military presence.