If you believe the polls, U.S. Reps. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) and Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) are in a statistical dead-heat headed down the stretch to the first congressional district Republican primary on March 5.
With the perceived close margin, both campaigns are ramping up their advertising.
Last week, Carl's campaign put out an ad that ran in the Mobile market criticizing Moore, proclaiming him not to be a "conservative."
Transcript as follows:
NARRATOR: When Trump started the wall...
TRUMP: I've signed $1.6 billion for the wall. That will start immediately.
NARRATOR: ...Barry Moore said he would have voted against it defunding Trump's wall before it began. And when every other Alabama Republican voted to force Biden into finishing Trump's wall...
MOORE: We stopped them
NARRATOR: ...because Barry Moore teamed up with Democrats to vote no, betraying Trump and Alabama. Barry Moore, fighting Trump's wall. Not a conservative.
When asked about the campaign's decision to go "negative" during an appearance on Mobile radio's FM Talk 106.5 on Tuesday, Carl dismissed any criticisms of Moore as "negative."
"Jeff, I disagree with you on the negative part," he said. "What we're trying to do is show a difference between he and I because when most people look at us, they're going, 'Well, y'all voted pretty much just alike. You're in the same party. Y'all have worked together,' and so on and so forth. We have taken the stance we've got to define ourselves and show the difference in our voting record and the things we've said over time."
"Being negative — I've never been in favor of a negative campaign," Carl continued. "I always get hit with them. You still have some outside influence in this race that is probably going to start slamming me pretty soon. I disagree with you. It's not negative. It's showing the difference between he and I and the thought pattern."
Carl added that he did not see Moore's campaigning as necessarily negative but did refer to campaign literature put out by Moore's campaign as an effort to distinguish the two candidates that may be perceived as negative.
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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