The GOP primary runoff for the open seat of retiring Alabama Rep. Terry Everett has taken a turn for the delightful in recent weeks, with state Rep. Jay Love and state Sen. Harri Anne Smith releasing a string of attack ads that are only getting nastier. It's gotten so bad that Everett himself is calling on Love and Smith to knock it off:
On Tuesday, retiring Rep. Terry Everett (R), who has stayed neutral throughout the primary race for his Montgomery and southeast Alabama-based seat, called on both candidates to take down their negative ads and end the intraparty split that has developed.
"The tone of the runoff campaign for the 2nd District Congressional seat has taken a highly negative and unacceptable path," Everett said in a statement. "Our country is facing crucial turning points and the issues confronting America and the people of the 2nd District should take precedence over the attack ads, thinly disguised as comparison ads, that are being aired by both candidates."
Everett, who has held the seat for eight terms, asked both campaigns to "focus on the issues and behave in a manner that reflects well on our party, our state, and most importantly, the people we represent."
How bad is it? Bad enough to tilt this R+13.2 district to Democrat Bobby Bright?
Craig Schmidtke, a Dothan oral surgeon who came in third place in the June GOP primary, said Tuesday that Love and Smith are on the verge of driving voters to the Democratic Party with their continued sniping at each other in ads and in news releases.
"It's getting very ugly and very muddy, and people are just really honestly very fed up," said Schmidtke, who garnered 20 percent of the primary vote but hasn't endorsed either candidate in the runoff. "I've had many, many people who are die-hard Republicans who have told me personally that they are thinking about voting Democrat for the first time ever. I'm saddened that it's come to this."
Love and Smith have thrown the kitchen sink at each other, with each candidate claiming that the other is a tax-raiser. Smith has attacked Love for being tied to big oil and the hand-picked choice of DC politicians (Love is the candidate of choice of the NRCC and Boehner's posse). Love has fired back that Smith is questioning his Christian credentials:
But, the ad that troubles Love the most is a radio spot bhecause it gets personal. "There's a radio ad right now kind of questioning my Christianity." The beginning of the radio spot says, "He claims he's a Christian conservative. The truth is Jay Love is not conservative at all." Love had a strong reaction to that commercial. "I think that's out of bounds. That's personal attack in my mind. What hurts is and what's disappointing is it's coming from another republican." Smith says that's not the message of her ad at all. "I question whether he really is a conservative - not a Christian. I would never, never question anybody's faith."
Love has also charged that Smith has sold out her values to accept money from "gambling" interests -- or more specifically, from Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley. Gilley was so offended by Love, that he has apparently gone so far as to air his own radio ads featuring country singer George Jones calling Love a "plain old liar".
This just might be the nastiest GOP House primary of the cycle so far, which is great news for Bobby Bright.
