Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Who is Mike Durant?

  Many of you have asked the question, “Have you ever seen anyone simply run a media-only campaign and avoid campaigning like Mike Durant has done in this year’s U.S. Senate campaign?”  Surprisingly my answer for many of you is, “Yes, I have.”

  Ironically, the man that Richard Shelby beat for this U.S. Senate seat 36 years ago, Jeremiah Denton, was almost a carbon copy of Mike Durant. Denton was a POW/national war hero of the Vietnam era.

  Like Durant, Denton had very distant ties to and knowledge of Alabama. They were both national war/POW celebrities who wanted to be a United States Senator from whichever state was convenient.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Benefactor or idealogue

  Over the years, I have discussed my observations and concepts of the two different roles or routes taken by a U.S. Senator or Congressman during their tenure in Washington.

  One clearly chooses one of two postures in their representation of you in Washington. Our delegates to DC are either benefactors or idealogues.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Incumbency reigns supreme in the Alabama Senate

  Being an incumbent state senator in Alabama is like owning that seat. The level of reelectability odds is probably better than that of an incumbent congressman, which is about the same as being elected to a seat in the Russian Communist Politburo.

  Being a freshman state senator in Alabama is a more powerful position than being a freshman U.S. congressman, especially if you want to affect public policy.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - 2022 Senate race will be the most expensive in state history

  The marquee race in this big 2022 election year is for our open U.S. Senate seat. It is beginning to percolate.

  The race has been raging for over a year already and we are getting poised to begin the final press to the finish line. The Republican Primary is three months away on May 24 with a monumental runoff on June 21. The winner on that day will be Richard Shelby’s successor.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Status of 2022 U.S. Senate race

  When Sen. Richard Shelby announced he would not run for reelection to a sixth six-year term in 2022, speculation immediately began as to who would run for our iconic senior senator’s seat. Numerous names were floated as to who might line up for the coveted seat. It is expected to be a fairly large field.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - 2022 big election year as Alabama chooses Shelby’s successor

  I previously alerted you to the fact that next year will be a banner year in Alabama politics. The governor, lieutenant governor, and all other statewide constitutional offices are up for election. All 140 members of the Alabama Legislature are up for election and will be running under new lines. Our entire congressional delegation is up for reelection, and they, too, will be running under new lines drawn by the legislature. All 67 sheriffs in the state are also on the ballot.

  This slate in and of itself would make this a marquee year. However, what will render this upcoming 2022 election year momentous is that we will have a very important U.S. Senate seat to fill. Richard Shelby will retire after 36 years in the United States Senate. It will be impossible to replace Senator Shelby. The amount of federal dollars he has secured for the Heart of Dixie is incomprehensible and irreplaceable. He will be remembered as the greatest senator in Alabama history.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - 2022 will be a big year for Alabama politics

  All signs point to a Titanic political year in 2022. In fact, as I look back over the last six decades of my observations of Alabama politics, next year may be the most momentous.