Only two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are still actively campaigning – Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.
Despite that, those who vote in Alabama's Republican primary on March 5 will see eight choices for president – seven candidate names plus "Uncommitted." Ballots for Alabama's March 5 primary have been printed for quite some time, and the seven names plus "Uncommitted" are on it.
The Alabama Republican Party confirmed Monday that the election results will be "tallied and reported" even though most of those candidates are not now campaigning.
The only significant thing in the seven candidate names on the Alabama presidential primary ballot is this: They all paid a $20,000 qualifying fee to the Alabama Republican Party – a nice $140,000 fundraiser for the state party.
Alabama Republicans' eight presidential choices are Ryan L. Binkley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, David Stuckenberg, Donald J. Trump and Uncommitted.
Political analysts following the race will have little to comment on after the Alabama votes come in Tuesday night. Trump is expected to easily outdistance the field. Haley is expected to be a distant second, although that second-place finish is not guaranteed.
Since the commentators will have little to talk about, here are some suggested topics of interest(?):
Will Nikki Haley come in second place? If not, it could be the final straw in her already-faltering campaign.
Will Haley outrun "Uncommitted?"
Will Ryan Binkley outrun David Stuckenberg?
Here's a prediction you can bet on: Most political commentators will not come to Alabama for Super Tuesday but will cover one of the other "Super Tuesday" states.
The states holding primary elections on Super Tuesday besides Alabama are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.
One U.S. territory, American Samoa, will also hold a primary vote.
Political analysts not coming to Alabama (most) could gravitate toward California to see if Trump can carry California and by how much or to American Samoa to get an all-expenses-paid trip.
Some analysts had expected Nikki Haley to drop out if she failed to carry her home state of South Carolina, where she had previously served as governor. She lost her home state to Trump by about a 20-point margin. She did not drop out, stating that she was staying in through the March 5 Super Tuesday voting.
Those analysts may want to return from covering California or American Samoa in case of a Nikki Haley news conference on Wednesday, March 6, the day after Super Tuesday.
Jim Zeigler is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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