Rep. Artur Davis lost his bid to become the first black Democratic nominee for governor in Alabama Tuesday by a huge margin, falling to state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks by 24 points.
Davis led in polls and was touted in national news as the likely winner. A moderate Democrat who needed to distance himself from Obama’s agenda to have any chance in the general, he voted against the health-care bill and downplayed race during his run. He sought to build a coalition of white and black voters without kissing the rings of unelected black leaders. It didn’t work.
Black leaders backed Sparks, who is white, who racked up some 40 percent of the black vote, even in areas in and around the district Davis represents. The failure of Davis’ strategy raises many questions, the most important of which is, “Why do the black leaders of Alabama hate black people?”
Oh, I kid. You see, I believe it’s possible for people of all colors to have political disagreements with black politicians without being racist, but then, I’m not a liberal. The fact that this is a Democratic primary means that we will hear no national news about what it reveals about the fundamental intolerance of white Democrats, who voted for Sparks in large numbers. It means we’ll hear nothing about Sparks’ campaign against Davis’ elitism, Harvard education, and affinity for New York City, which liberals would construe as an accusation of uppity-ness had it come from a white guy from any other party.
We’ll also hear next to nothing about another story line, which is the more reasonable and politically important one— how Obama’s far-left agenda sunk the kind of promising, smart moderate candidate the Democratic Party needs in a red state. Like Obama, Davis is a likeable, intelligent guy who can talk non-ideological pragmatism to potentially unite black and white voters and perhaps attract cross-over voters. But he could not have backed Obama’s health care plan and won a general election. Clearly, he couldn’t vote against the health-care plan and win his primary.
It was the left that organized to defeat him, which is their perfect right, but shouldn’t they be asked a few questions about the size of their tent as a result? It will likely be a bad year for any Democratic gubernatorial nominee, but jettisoning Davis for a guy who loudly supports “health-care reform and the public option” (a sudden switch after not being sure about it for many months) and whose campaign manager resigned after an April DUI arrest doesn’t sound like a recipe for increased success. (Alabamians oppose Obamacare enough that the entire House delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike, voted against it.)
Polling, such that it is, shows Davis and Sparks running virtually even against all of the potential GOP opponents. I respected Davis’ ability to proclaim, when Jesse Jackson questioned his blackness, that his skin color did not have to dictate his every policy preference, and thought his delicate response to Jackson reflected smart handling of a sensitive situation. In a better year for Democrats and not hemmed in by Obama’s unpopular health-care overhaul, I would not have been surprised to see Davis make some strides with bringing together white and black voters in Alabama.
The Republican primary was a hotly contested three-way affair that ended with former state senator Bradley Byrne on top by a bit and Tim James and Bob Bentley close behind and virtually tied. There will be a run-off on June 13 between the top two vote-getters, but determining the top two may require a recount. Bentley’s good finish was a surprise, which probably reflects voter annoyance with the tone of the battle between James and Byrne.
In other news, there is no safe haven for party-switchers. Just after incumbent party-switcher Arlen Specter’s loss in Pennsylvania, Rep. Parker Griffith, who became a Republican five months ago in an effort to save his congressional seat, was soundly defeated by Mo Brooks. There will be no run-off. Brooks is a county commissioner who went national in his campaign:
“We must, as a people,” said Brooks, who has represented south Huntsville on the Madison County Commission, “put a stop to what’s going on in Washington before the nation goes over a cliff. We must stop those who believe socialism is the way to go.”
It’s not a good week to be from Washington.
