Alabama Politics » Artur Davis

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Erin Dixon — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:29:56 +0000

Looking for election return results on June 1^st? Look no further, we will post all results on this blog.
Want to see video of candidates at their election return parties and even some acceptance and concession speeches? We will have it right here.
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On election night we will keep you up to date with returns, video, and happenings across the state. Stay with us, we will take care of you on June 1.

Bingo ruling stirs up Democratic gubernatorial campaign

Jonathan Hardison — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:08:14 +0000

The fallout from the latest bingo ruling is stirring up the Democratic gubernatorial race now just a week away from primary election day.
Electronic bingo has been a big issue for gubernatorial candidates from both parties in the primary races, but most Republicans at least agree that they’re opposed to electronic bingo but would tightly control it if the courts decide its legal.
But bingo and gaming has been the cornerstone of one of the 2 Democratic candidates campaigns, and today Ron Sparks came out swinging, but not at his opponent.
“I’m asking the Governor to stop this madness and stop this craziness in the state of Alabama,” Sparks said at a Birmingham press conference. “The people don’t deserve it and they wanna vote on it.”
Sparks said he’s asking Riley not to re-start raids on electronic bingo halls after a supreme court ruling last week that gives the Governor final say in bingo issues.
Sparks said he would fire task force commander John Tyson and dismantle the operation if elected Governor.
Rival Artur Davis capitalized on the ruling to point out his differences with Sparks on the bingo question.
“I think the ruling clarifies our differences in the Governor’s race,” Davis said. ‘I’m the only candidate running who’s not controlled by the gambling interests, but who is also for giving people a chance to vote. People ought to have a chance to resolve this question. But I’m not going to do it in a way where the deck is rigged to favor a few fat cats who are running a few casinos.”
Both Democratic candidates agree on letting voters decide whether electronic bingo is legal, but no one is sure how casino raids would affect their race just days before election day. Sparks says it might actually help his campaign.
“Anytime you wanna strategize on political campaigns, certainly people that’s losing their jobs, someone that’s trying to stick up for their job, possibly that could help you,” Sparks said. “But my concern is that it’s wrong.”
“We don’t have the gambling operators funding us like Sparks does,” Davis said. “So we’ve gotta get out there and take our case to the people. We’ve gotta take our case to the voters. And we feel good about the last week of the campaign.”

Joe Reed vs. Artur Davis Round ???

Jonathan Hardison — Thu, 13 May 2010 01:07:09 +0000

The issue of race is bubbling to the surface again in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, just 2 days after both candidates addressed alleged racial undertones to campaign literature coming from South Alabama. This time it’s one of the state’s oldest black political voices who’s stirring the pot.
Joe Reed, who’s the leader of the state’s oldest black political organization, said today Birmingham Rep. Artur Davis can’t win in November because he “rejected the black vote.”
It seems almost surreal to see the issue of race becoming a flashpoint between 2 prominent African-American political voices. But what Reed said out loud today is something some other prominent black politicians have been saying off the record for months now, and it’s an argument Artur Davis says belongs in the past.
Speaking in Montgomery Wednesday, Reed wasted no time in going after his fellow Democrat, saying many black voters wouldn’t vote for Davis because he didn’t support President Obama’s healthcare reform plan.
“You can’t curse folk in the daytime and beg them at night, it doesn’t work,” Reed said.
Davis won’t appear before Reed’s Alabama Democratic Conference to ask for its endorsement, a move Reed says sends a clear message.
“You’ve told blacks already ‘I don’t want the black vote,” Reed said. “Now once you eliminate that, that’s your base vote. That’s the base vote of any Democrat who runs for office. So you repudiate that, so where are you gonna get your white votes from?”
Davis fired back at a transit rally in Birmingham Wednesday.
“Joe Reed apparently has a race problem,” Davis sad. “Joe Reed apparently thinks blacks can’t be elected to high office. He said the same thing about Barack Obama 3 years ago, he said the same thing about me today, and it’s sad. Joe Reed got into politics years ago because he wanted to expand opportunity for all individuals to serve regardless of race. As America moves forward, Joe Reed has gone backwards.”
“I criticized all the Alabama congressmen, and the Democrats in particular,” Reed said. “But Artur took exception to it and said I injected race in it. Well there’s no way in God’s green earth Artur can run for anything or Joe Reed can run for anything for that matter and race doesn’t get into the picture.”
“He’ll learn on June 1st and November 2nd, Alabama’s ready to move forward,” Davis said.
Reed said it’s not automatic that his group will endorse Davis’ primary opponent Ron Sparks.The Alabama Democratic Conference will meet to decide on whether to endorse a candidate on Saturday.

Artur Davis Holds Newser Today

Rick Journey — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:37:35 +0000

Democratic candidate for governor and congressman Artur Davis holds a news conference at his Birmingham HQ at 1pm to further discuss what he calls “racially tinged” rhetoric from supporters of his opponent, Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks.

Davis’s calls for Sparks to “denounce” such talk began Monday morning during an interview on FOX6 WBRC’s Good Day Alabama.

Ironically, his latest comments come on a day when the Wall Street Journal profiles his campaign. In that story, WSJ reporter Corey Dade observes Davis has been “taking a cue from President Barack Obama’s strategy on race…. Don’t bring it up.” Things may be changing.

The Sparks campaign calls Davis’s comments “irresponsible” and say “race has no place in any campaign.”

When asked about the Davis comments in Montgomery during a news conference concerning the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Commissioner Sparks said he knew nothing about it and said he would talk first with campaign staffers.

This morning on Good Day Alabama, Birmingham Southern College political science professor Natalie Davis said at this point “it gets nasty.”

“Whenever race starts to penetrate these elections, people get antsy.”

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

The Davis and Sparks Back and Forth

Rick Journey — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:44:12 +0000

Is calling U.S. Rep. Artur Davis “unelectable” code that a black candidate can not be elected governor in Alabama?

Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks has repeatedly said he is more electable than Rep. Davis, but his campaign argues it is because Davis is a “lousy congressman.”

How about if the “unelectable argument” comes in the form of a newsletter written by a Sparks supporter (distributed independent of the campaign) and states “Can Davis get 20% of the white vote in November? No, but Ron Sparks can.”

That is the claim stemming from a newsletter circulated by the Davis campaign today to showcase what Davis calls “race-tinged” speech in the final three weeks of the Democratic campaign for governor.

The newsletter is attributed to Sparks supporter Ed Kahalley, Sr. who appears as a contributor to the commissioner in campaign finance reports.

The letter states “I am sure that Congressman Artur Davis is a good man and he would be a good Governor if he were elected, but we must be realistic.”

This morning on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama, Davis said “we know what’s going on.”

Davis went on to say, “they are in effect saying if you make Artur Davis the nominee he is unelectable. You are jeopardizing the Democratic party’s chances to win. Candidly, what they mean by that is if an African American is the Democratic nominee for governor, there is going to be a dangerous result for the Democratic Party.”

Davis wants Sparks to “denounce” such claims and return campaign contributions to the author of the newsletter.

Sparks campaign spokesman, Taylor Bright, says in a statement:

“This is a despicable and irresponsible charge by a desperate Artur Davis. Race has no place in any campaign. We had nothing to do with the letter, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Our opinion is Artur Davis is unelectable in November because he is a lousy congressman who voted with banks, insurance companies and credit card companies against the people of Alabama.”

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

Artur Davis: Sparks campaign should denounce racial tactics

Erin Dixon — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:45:50 +0000

Here is the full story on WBRC’s website.

Latest Davis Commercial

Rick Journey — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:30:07 +0000

Congressman Artur Davis releases a new commercial in his campaign for governor.

People First touches on special interest, out-of-state tax breaks for corporations and high school drop outs.

Rasmussen Raises Questions About Roy Moore in General Election

Rick Journey — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:46:59 +0000

Scott Rasmussen’s polling firm releases numbers showing Bradley Byrne (R) strong against Democrats Artur Davis (50%-33%) and Ron Sparks (43%-33%) in hypothetical matchups.

Rasmussen Reports finds Tim James (R) in front in a Davis matchup (49%-35%), but tighter with Sparks (38%-34%).

Those two Democrats lead Republican Roy Moore in the same survey. Davis wins the early hypothetical 44%-40% and Sparks leads 40%-35%.

Birmingham Southern College’s Natalie Davis says a Moore nomination would be favorable to Dems this year.

It is a challenge facing Republicans in the field because Moore’s base of support polls near the top in the June primary, but suggest weakness in November.

Natalie Davis also talks about a new BSC survey that shows likely voters backing e-bingo in a statewide vote.

Read more of Rick Journey’s political blogs here.

Artur Davis picks up firefighters association endorsement

Bob Howell — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:26:27 +0000

By Bob Howell – WSFA 12 News – Montgomery, AL

Democrat Artur Davis picked up the support of state firefighters in his bid for his party’s nomination for governor in the June 1 primary election. Here’s his campaign’s release on the endorsement:

__________________________

Alabama Fire Fighters Unanimously Endorse Artur Davis in Democratic Race for Governor

Fire Fighters Praise Davis’ Strong Record of Support

BIRMINGHAM – Artur Davis got a major boost in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor today with the endorsement of the Professional Fire Fighters of Alabama, the Alabama chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters. During an event held at International Association of Fire Fighters Local 117 headquarters in Birmingham, the fire fighters praised Davis’ strong record of support for the individuals who put their lives in danger every day to keep the rest of us safe.

“Our executive board unanimously decided to endorse Artur Davis for Governor for the great state of Alabama because of his unwavering support for us while he was in Congress,” said State President Dale Wyatt. “He stood by us on all of our issues that are important to fire fighters across the state of Alabama and we’re proud today to announce his endorsement.”

Congressman Davis thanked the PFF for their endorsement and vowed to continue to be a champion for fire fighters as governor. “I have enormous admiration both personally and professionally for the men and women who wake up every single morning and go on a shift every single day and literally risk their safety and their lives to keep our communities safe,” said Davis. “As a Member of Congress, I’ve been proud to stand with the men and women behind me and I will continue to stand with them as governor.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters has 33 affiliates in Alabama and a membership of over 2,300.

New PPP Survey Suggests Promising Year for GOP

Rick Journey — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:01:58 +0000

Public Policy Polling says if Republican Bradley Byrne met Democrat Artur Davis in a general election race right now, Byrne would lead 48%-32%.

The North Carolina-based firm released the findings of its March 27th-29th poll of 1,270 Alabama voters this afternoon. View the complete poll here.

In a Davis- Kay Ivey matchup, Ivey leads 44%-33%.

Ouch! considering sources point to Ivey leaving the Republican field this afternoon to seek the nomination for lieutenant governor. PPP reported Tuesday she was tied for a distant third with Robert Bentley in the Republican primary (neither Bentley nor Bill Johnson were included in this survey).

PPP gives James a 42%-33% edge over Davis.

The Democratic congressman performs best in a matchup with Roy Moore, trailing the “10 Commandments Judge” 43%-37%.

Sure to be a Team Sparks email this afternoon, Ag Commissioner Ron Sparks fares better in hypothetical matchups by PPP (but still trails).

Byrne 43% Sparks 30%
Ivey 39% Sparks 33%
James 38% Sparks 33%
Moore 42% Sparks 37%

The survey also finds Gov. Bob Riley seeing a drop in his support. Fifty percent of voters now disapprove of him, compared to 36% who give him good marks.

Among the candidates, Davis has the highest “unfavorability” at 36% with Moore second highest at 34%.

Of those polled, 50% identify themselves as “conservative,” 37% as “moderate” and 13% as “liberal.”

On the topic of party id, 43% say they are Republican, 36% Democrat and 21% Independent/Other.

The margin of error is 2.8%.

Read more of Rick Journey’s political blogs here.