Hinton Mitchem is well liked as a person in Marshall County but the sentiment is that he has been an absentee Senator for quite some time. Hinton barely won last time against a weak opponent and is allegedly/understandably concerned about his chances in this election. His recent consideration of switching parties appears to be indicative of his concerns.

John Wilson has been actively working in the county for at least a year, but has not been effective in garnering any serious support. He is viewed as a nice guy, but not a serious contender. He may have some support in Madison County, but without serious Marshall County support, he is spinning his wheels.

I have to agree with Young GOP in regards to Don Spurlin as the candidate to beat. He is a successful business man who has a long history of community involvement and economic development in the area.

Tony entered the race a couple of weeks ago and raised eyebrows throughout the area by doing so. Tony Cochran has been Hinton Mitchem’s CPA for decades and many people are scratching their heads about his close personal and professional relationship morphing into a run for Hinton’s position. I won’t repeat the comments attributed to Hinton in regards to Tony entering the race for reasons of decorum. I will relay that they were colorful.

Since the original post, a fourth candidate has entered the race. Clay Scofield, a young grass roots candidate from Arab has thrown his hat into the ring. Clay appears to be an earnest young man with a great deal of frustration towards the direction that he feels the country is going and a sincere desire to step in and be part of the solution.

The illegal alien issue in Marshall County won’t go away and must be addressed by those who aspire to public office. The next Senator from district 9 must face this issue head on and compassionately. Ignoring the challenges created to healthcare, law enforcement, social services etc. won’t make them go away.

I also expect this to be a spirited race. Since the Republican challenger will most likely face the former Pres pro tempore, both the Democrats and Republican want to win this district. What your readers need to know, once they get to know me, I am the candidate which can and will win this seat for the Republican Party.

Do you suppose the Republicans will ever stop sending this message to Latinos: “We hate you, and we aren’t too fond of your kids either”?

Alas, the GOP is getting even worse in that regard.

The Cuban vote in Florida used to be a gimme for Republicans until the word got out about Katherine Harris’ instructions to the consultant who was weeding out voter lists: “Kick off all the people whose names look Hispanic.”

I have 4 adorable little grandnieces in California who are Latina in heritage and 3rd generation Californians, and I worry that some follower of Lou Dobbs and the militiamen might decide some day that they’re the wrong color. http://oldblog.crispen.org/index.php?s=christine

BTW, I think the percentage of Hispanics you cite is about right for Albertville, but IIRC the percentage in Marshall County is about 6% (like you said, depending…). The City of Albertville (pop ~18,000) has seen it’s population shift rapidly in the past few years due to immigration (legal and illegal), and this has surfaced some issues with education, health care, and public safety.

I think that approaching Hispanics with a good neighbor message would help (e.g., supporting ESL in schools and opposing illegal immigration / sex-trafficking brothels / drug smuggling). IMO Hispanics should be natural constituents for the GOP (generally socially conservative). Hispanics who immigrate here legally are motivated by jobs, due to the failures of socialism in their home countries.

Rev. Bob – nice comment.

O thus be it always when free people shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation.

The reason why I give the nod to Wilson in the primary is because of simple geography. The majority of the GOP primary vote in this district will come from the South Huntsville portions of the district. This number will also be even more inflated due to the GOP Primary in Congressional District 5, where Mo Brooks will undoubtedly turn out leagues of voters in his home Commission district. I think this all helps Wilson.

However, I believe that Spurlin is the better candidate for the general to run against Mitchem. My reasoning for this is also simple geography. Spurlin, being from Marshall County, would be much more likely to be able to bring in independents and moderate Democrats in Arab and Boaz and Albertville and Blountsville. I question if these people would come out in near as much force for a wealthy, city-based, South Huntsville candidate like Wilson. The people of Marshall County have some animosity towards their neighbors to the north and I’m not sure if Wilson will be able to convince them that he shares their rural small town priorities and values. South Huntsville will come out for whoever the Republican is, be it Spurlin or Wilson, in the general; I am not sure if the same can be said of Marshall County.

All this is just my humble opinion though, and could change if Spurlin really makes inroads in South Huntsville or Wilson goes farm to farm in Marshall and Blount Counties.

A wildcard in this race is the hispanic vote. Marshall County has the largest percentage of this subgroup in Alabama(between 12% and 20% depending on what statistics you look at). These people have by and large ignored politics, most likely because of their legal status, but they are starting to organize into civic and poilitical groups. They could be a factor, especially if the Republican candidate decides to go heavy on the anti-immigrant rhetoric.