Alabama Attorney General election, 2014

Alabama Attorney General Election

Primary Date: June 3, 2014

General Election Date: November 4, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Luther Strange

Incumbent prior to election: Luther Strange

Alabama State Executive Elections Top Ballot Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Treasurer, Auditor, Agriculture Commissioner, Public Service Commissioner

The Alabama Attorney General election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Luther Strange (R) was first elected in 2010 and won re-election against Democratic candidate Joseph Lister Hubbard in 2014.

Strange and Hubbard shared their thoughts about the responsibilities of the attorney general's office during the campaign. Learn more about where the candidates stood on the issues by jumping to the campaign themes section. Both campaigns also sparred over the state's investigation of state Rep. Mike Hubbard, which is detailed in the race background section.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Alabama uses an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

General election

Luther Strange - Incumbent
Joseph Lister Hubbard - State Rep.

Results

General election

Attorney General of Alabama, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Luther Strange Incumbent	58.4%	681,973
	Democratic	Joseph Lister Hubbard	41.4%	483,771
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.2%	2,157
Total Votes				1,167,901
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State

Race background

Mike Hubbard indictment

The October 20 indictment of Alabama State House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R) on ethics charges became a topic of discussion in the 2014 attorney general race. Attorney General Luther Strange (R) appointed special prosecutor Van Jones in 2013 to oversee a grand jury investigation of Hubbard, who was accused of using his office for personal gain. Hubbard's indictment on 23 charges drew the attention of Strange's 2014 opponent, Joseph Lister Hubbard (D), who stated that deputy attorney general Sonny Reagan was suspended for allegedly tampering with the investigation. Reagan denied this accusation and called for an independent investigation into it.

Joe Hubbard, who is not related to Mike Hubbard, also accused Strange of allowing government corruption to go unchecked during his time in office. The Democratic candidate suggested that Strange spent more time worrying about illegal gambling in the state rather than more serious crimes. Strange's campaign spokesperson, Mike Lewis, countered that the attorney general was proactive in corruption cases as demonstrated in the Mike Hubbard case. Lewis also accused of Joe Hubbard of being a "parrot of big casino bosses," pointing to campaign contributions from the Poarch Creek tribe.

Campaign themes

Both candidates in this race made public statements about issues relevant to the attorney general's office. The following sections quote these statements verbatim from campaign websites:

Crime

Joseph Lister Hubbard

“	Crime is on the rise in Alabama. In the past three years, violent crime has taken hold in our urban areas. Meth labs have sprouted up like mushrooms in our rural communities. Instead of fighting crime, our current Attorney General has ignored the problems and squandered time and taxpayer dollars on his personal political witch-hunts. Alabamians are asking, “Where’s Luther?” when it comes to fighting crime. As our Attorney General, Joe Hubbard will clean the streets of the thugs and drug dealers who operate in plain view.	”
—Joe Hubbard's campaign website, (2014)

Luther Strange

“	Being the victim of a crime – especially a violent crime – is one of the hardest and most distressing experiences anyone will ever face. As Attorney General, I have made it a priority to assist victims during this time of need. Since 2011, the Attorney General’s Office of Victim Assistance (AGOVA) has filed 7,720 protest letters against pardons and paroles of violent offenders. AGOVA has also assisted 2,886 victims at hearings. Over the last three years the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles has only granted relief to five inmates where my office protested on behalf of crime victims. My office is absolutely committed to protecting the rights of Alabama’s crime victims.	”
—Luther Strange's campaign website, (2014)

Law enforcement

Joseph Lister Hubbard

“	Whether they are cutting corners at a cost to consumers or price gouging customers during a state emergency, big, out-of-state corporations are laughing their way to the bank at our expense. The role of the Attorney General is to protect the interests of every Alabama consumer, not to sell us out to the highest bidder. Our current Attorney General has more experience lobbying for big corporations in Washington D.C. than he does fighting them on our behalf. Alabamians are asking, “Where’s Luther?” when it comes to protecting the interest of the Alabama consumer. As our Attorney General, Joe Hubbard will take on any big corporation and their high-dollar CEO if they ever try to take advantage of the people of Alabama.	”
—Joe Hubbard's campaign website, (2014)

Luther Strange

“	As Attorney General, I am the state’s chief law enforcement officer and it is my job to make sure our laws are enforced. I have worked closely with our Sheriffs, District Attorney’s and other law enforcement officers across the state to ensure the laws are being followed, and are fairly and correctly applied to everyone. We’ve taken steps to improve school safety, strengthen protections for our elderly residents, and enhance our consumer protection laws. I also developed a special prosecution unit to fight public corruption. Unlike President Obama, I do not believe that we can pick and choose which laws to enforce based on our own personal beliefs. One of the greatest legacies of our founding fathers is a country based on the rule of law, and this legal foundation must be protected.	”
—Luther Strange's campaign website, (2014)

Past elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, Luther Strange (R) won election to the office of Attorney General of Alabama. He defeated James H. Anderson (D) in the general election.

Attorney General of Alabama, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Luther Strange (R)	58.8%	868,520
	Democratic	James H. Anderson	41.1%	606,270
	Write-in	N/A	0.1%	1,285
Total Votes				1,476,075
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $2,583,653 during the election. This information was last updated on May 9, 2015.

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Luther Strange	Alabama Attorney General		$2,583,653
Joseph Lister Hubbard	Alabama Attorney General		$0
Grand Total Raised			$2,583,653

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
February 7, 2014	Filing deadline
June 3, 2014	Primary election
July 15, 2014	Primary runoff
November 4, 2014	General election
November 14, 2014	Certification of general election results
January 19, 2015	Inauguration day for state executive officials in general election

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Alabama + Attorney + General + Election + 2014"

Alabama Attorney General election, 2014 News Feed

See also

• Alabama Attorney General
• Alabama state executive official elections, 2014
• State executive official elections, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Attorney General of Alabama