Jeff Vreeland of Politics in Alabama, who just returned from an two-month vacation from blogging (welcome back!), was quoted in a Roll Call article published yesterday on up-and-coming Democratic candidates in Alabama. Yeah, I know Jeff’s a Republican; the article also quoted state Democratic Party chair Joe Turnham and an unnamed GOP strategist.
The article’s primary focus is Ron Sparks’ seemingly-more-likely-every-day challenge to Jeff Sessions in the 2008 Senate race. Sessions has a big campaign war chest and the undying loyalty of the Bush administration (in many states, that would be a negative, but as a commenter pointed out Tuesday, most of the remaining Bush supporters live in Alabama).
Sparks has the buzz. Coming off a decisive re-election to statewide office as a Democrat in a pretty darn Republican state, he’s got the momentum to reach higher. And from what I hear of his skills as an orator, I think he can take on Jeff “we attacked Iraq because Saddam said he won the first war” Sessions with one vocal cord tied behind his back. If he can win the Senate seat, or even get close, he’s going to pave the way for the others who will come behind him.