The unusual political career of Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., continues to be defined by a series of unfortunate events. Any relief after the Monday resignation of disgraced Gov. Robert Bentley, R-Ala., had dissipated by Wednesday morning. Now Strange must fend off new attacks from within his own party.
Less than 48 hours after Bentley vacated the governor’s mansion, the president pro-tempore of the Alabama Senate, State Sen. Del Marsh, called for a special election to be rescheduled and admitted he’s considering a run.
“Most people would like to see the election moved up,” Marsh told the Washington Examiner, referring to a primary set for June 2018. “If I was governor, I’d move it up.”
More than a scheduling conflict, the calendar question could determine the fate of Strange’s short career in the United States Senate. The earlier the election, according to conventional political wisdom, the more vulnerable Strange is to a challenger. He’d have less time to establish himself in office and shake lingering questions of impropriety from the governor’s old sex scandal.
Before being forced from the governor’s office for using taxpayer dollars to fund an illicit affair with one of his aides, Bentley appointed Strange to fill the seat recently vacated by now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Only problem? As state attorney general, it was Strange’s job to lead the investigation. Rumors of the quid-pro-quo variety naturally abound.
Over the phone Wednesday morning, Marsh did little to dispel those allegations, accusing the lumbering 6-foot-9 Strange of lethargy. “Seems to me that if there was anyone who was lagging on the investigation,” Marsh said, “it was the prior attorney general.”
Altogether there were three investigations into Bentley’s conduct including the attorney general’s probe. The House Judiciary Committee was considering impeachment while the state ethics committee was looking for probable cause. Besides Strange, Marsh said, “everybody else did a heckuva job.”
While attorney general, Strange asked Alabama lawmakers to hold off on pressing charges so as not to interfere with his investigation. But after he left for Capitol Hill, they rebooted that effort. And exactly 60 days after Strange took the oath of office, Bentley was arrested, booked, and charged.
“It just seems strange that there was a lull going on for a couple of months,” Marsh said. “As soon as the new attorney general takes office, then suddenly boom the investigation was on and suddenly actions were taken.”
Strange dismissed those charges during a recent visit to the Washington Examiner‘s newsroom, pointing to the team he left behind at the Alabama attorney general’s office, a squad that recently pressed charges against Bentley.
The senator’s spokesperson was more forceful, telling the Washington Examiner that Strange’s conduct could “only be misconstrued by those with a personal vendetta.”
Along with Strange, Marsh was one of about two dozen candidates who interviewed for the open Senate seat. But he doesn’t believe Bentley ever gave him a fair shot. “I think it was predetermined who the governor was going to pick for the U.S. Senate,” he said.
Whether or not Strange will be forced to defend his record on the electoral stump is up to Gov. Kay Ivey. According to the Alabama secretary of state, she could move up the election “with the stroke of a pen.”
But if it comes to that, “if there were an election,” Marsh said, “I’d obviously consider it.”
A Southern Thunderdome, the race would be brutal. With a war chest worth a reported $763,612, Strange will be hard to beat. If anybody hopes to topple him, it’d be Marsh. A former businessman, he’s rumored to have deep pockets and could self-fund in time for an early special election.
And at this point, with Republicans turning against each other, it’s not clear who would emerge from that contest.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
