News and Information -Wednesday, May 11, 2011- -Alabama 105th Special Election Result- A Valiant Effort Comes Up 275 Votes Short In Alabama Bill Atkinson Bill Atkinson, Constitution Party of Alabama can be very proud of their effort and achievement in 105th District Special Election Race. The Constitution Party played in the big leagues--going one-on-one with the GOP-- and came very close to victory in the 105th State House District Special Election in South Alabama Tuesday. Bill Atkinson proved to be the ideal candidate-- a successful businessman, well known in his community, without the slightest taint and able to communicate his message very well. His campaign had to gear up to fight a major battle in a very short time. Nevertheless, his campaign succeeded in garnering significant Tea Party support and raised a very respectable amount of money in that short time. In the end, only 275 votes were the difference with the Republican Sessions receiving 1926 votes to 1641 for Bill Atkinson--54 to 46%. The Constitution Party is often accused of "splitting the conservative vote"--a nonsensical charge intended to intimidate people into not voting their conscience. Ironically, local Constitution Party leaders opined, in an election night interview, that if a Democrat had been in the race that would have been enough to "split the liberal vote" giving Atkinson the margin of victory. Of course, such speculation is very familiar to sports fans whose team just lost a close came. There are always a lot of "what ifs." What is not speculation is that Bill Atkinson and the Constitution Party of Alabama did an outstanding job and ran a very solid. professional campaign even though they had to start from scratch and throw everything together very quickly. Clearly this will be a solid beginning for the Constitution Party (actually it builds nicely on David Walters 2010 Congressional Campaign in the same general area) and in no way an ending in South Alabama. In fact, Constitution Party Chairman Joshua Cassity reported that these results will give the Constitution Party of ballot access within the 105th District in the future. John Holland, the very capable public relations director of the Constitution Party of Alabama stated, on Facebook: "We took everything the State GOP could throw at us, they brought in every resource and tactic they had. They won the vote count but The Constitution Party won the day. Proving we can and will win elections if we have the right candidates." John's point is underscored by remembering the excellent showings made last year by Janine Hansen in Nevada (who finished within striking distance of winning in her state senate race) and Mary Starrett, (though not a partisan race everyone new she was a member of the Constitution Party in her race against a liberal Democrat opponent for County Commissioner in Yamhill County, Oregon) who actually ran ahead in the primary before falling narrowly in the run-off. As it approaches its 20th year all of the signs are that the Constitution Party is getting very close to being ready for "prime time" and participating on the big political stage. Thanks go first to our marvelous candidate, Bill Atkinson and to his family whose support is always essential in a race like this. Also thanks and congratulations to Josh Cassity and all of those Constitution Party members across the state of Alabama who, in defiance of killer tornadoes and many other obstacles, did a wonderful job in this campaign. Also, thanks to all inside and outside of the Constitution Party who contributed to the Atkinson Campaign and to the various citizen and tea party groups who came together in support of Bill Atkinson's candidacy to make this an extremely competitive race. Bill Atkinson's GOP opponent, David Sessions, was quoted in the aftermath of the election as saying that he was very happy "that he survived the general election." Indeed. Those are the words of someone who was well aware he had been in a very difficult and competitive race with an extremely capable opponent. The following is the news report on the election result in the local paper, the Press-Register (bold emphasis added): George Altman, Washington Bureau ,Press-Register GRAND BAY, Alabama -- Republican David Sessions beat Constitution Party candidate Bill Atkinson by an eight-point margin Tuesday to win the House District 105 special election, according to returns from Mobile County probate court. Sessions garnered 54 percent, with 1,926 votes, while Atkinson took 46 percent, with 1,641 votes. There also were a handful of write-in votes. Provisional ballots are not included in the totals. Sessions, a political novice, said it was a hard-fought victory. "They did a great job of going door-to-door with the grass roots and made it a lot tougher race than we thought it would be," Sessions said. "We're just thankful that we survived it, and we’re really humble." Atkinson expressed satisfaction with the close outcome in the south Mobile County race. "When you take a handful of tea party folks, about 30 or 40 folks, and you can put together a race against everything the state Republican Party has to throw at you, and you still come out only 8 percent behind, I'd say you did alright," Atkinson said Tuesday night. Sessions faced no Democrat in Tuesday's race, but Atkinson's third-party run posed a much greater challenge than did Sessions' previous opponents in the GOP primary. Sessions cruised through the three-person March primary with 60 percent of the vote, while his opponents mustered only 25 and 15 percent, respectively. "Of course, the low turnout really hurt" in Tuesday’s results, Sessions said. The general election drew some 1,000 fewer voters than the GOP primary. That primary coincided with a school tax vote that may have driven more people to the polls. House District 105 encompasses the south Mobile County coastline, including Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island, Irvington and Theodore. Atkinson attempted to challenge Sessions from the right, questioning the Grand Bay farmer's Republican credentials and criticizing him for his ties to Democrats. Atkinson, a political newcomer from Theodore who owns Atkinson Nursery, picked up the passionate support of some conservative groups, such as the Common Sense Campaign, which identifies with the tea party movement. But Sessions was backed by the Republican establishment, including the state party, U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner and Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. Hubbard congratulated Sessions in a written statement Tuesday night. "House Republicans have unprecedented momentum enacting conservative, good-government reforms that will move Alabama forward. David will be a valued member of the Alabama Legislature and a great representative of his district," the statement said. Sessions also had the backing of the man he's replacing in the House, former Rep. Spencer Collier, R-Irvington. Collier left the seat in January to join the Cabinet of Gov. Robert Bentley, spawning the special election. Sessions' election comes in time for him to join the Legislature for the final weeks of this year's regular session. Though he was strongly criticized during the campaign for receiving large contributions from a political action committee associated with one of the state's largest insurers, Sessions said that pushing for laws to increase availability and affordability of insurance will be a top priority for him in Montgomery. "We want to earn the respect of everyone, and we're going to go up there and work," Sessions said.

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