The Republican runoff in the 2nd congressional district on Tuesday will pit two Montgomery residents against each other, one who is a political newcomer banking that conservative supporters will back her against a former Alabama state lawmaker who claims he has more roots within the district.

Dick Brewbaker, a former state senator from 2010-2018 representing Montgomery, will face Caroleene Dobson, a Montgomery attorney in an increasingly bitter contest that will determine which Republican will face either Democratic candidate Shomari Figures or Anthony Daniels in what could be widely watched November general election with the partisan balance of the U.S. House hanging in balance.

Brewbaker finished first with 39.6% of the vote during the March 5 primary, with Dobson in second at 26.5% during an eight-candidate showdown of Republicans vying for the nomination. It takes 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. The two have largely self-financed their campaigns, with Brewbaker raising $1.8 million as of March 27, while Dobson has raised $1.2 million, according to Federal Election Commission figures. Brewbaker loaned his campaign $1.6 million, while Dobson loaned herself $992,000.

Dobson has secured slightly more in small individual donations under $200, while Brewbaker leads in larger contributions.

The winner will attempt to keep the 2nd district red. It is currently represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, who won the redrawn 1st GOP congressional district primary on March 5.

The 2nd district was redrawn by federal judges after the U.S. Supreme Court decided last year that Alabama has to create a second new district that could potentially elect a Black member of Congress. The 7th Congressional District has long been the only majority Black district.

The 2nd district’s boundaries, once extending into the conservative Wiregrass, now cover much of the Black Belt and rural areas between the two cities that anchor it – Montgomery and Mobile.

It is considered a Democrat-leaning district, but Republicans have hopes in keeping it after Democrats cast only 161 more votes than the Republicans during the primary election.

Conservative background

Dobson, 37, has been on the attack of Brewbaker’s record, claiming he is a career politician who isn’t adequately supportive of former Republican President Donald Trump, the current party nominee during this November’s presidential contest. Brewbaker, 63, says Dobson has been lying about his record, and points to endorsements from pro-Trump groups like Veterans for Trump, Eagle Forum, and Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor under Trump.

He is also endorsed by conservative organizations like the National Right to Life Committee and received the backing on Friday of Alabama state Sen. Greg Albritton, who finished in third place during the primary.

“The … thing I think is important is people say, ‘What is a real Republican?’ and look at someone who is a real conservative other than someone throwing tropes at the audience,” Brewbaker said. “If you look at my political record, you will see I’ve supported Republican campaigns for decades. Donald Trump, Katie Britt. I have supported their campaigns not just by just talking about them but putting my money (toward supporting them). My opponent, I looked very carefully, but I can’t find where she ever donated to a Republican campaign. Not in Texas.”

Dobson, who is an Alabama native, was a practicing lawyer in San Antonio, Texas, before moving back to Alabama where she is an attorney for the Birmingham law firm Maynard Nexsen in 2019. She said her two daughters were born in Alabama, and that she is “grateful to be raising them in District 2 with the Christian morals and conservative values that we Alabamians fiercely embrace.”

“Only a 20-year career politician like Dick Brewbaker would determine how Republican you are by how many campaign contributions you give,” Dobson said, referring to Brewbaker’s political career that began in 2003 with his election into the Alabama House. Brewbaker decided not to run for the Alabama Legislature in 2018, opting to honor a self-imposed term limit pledge.

“Frankly, that’s a prime example of what’s wrong with American politics,” Dobson said. “Being a Republican is not about how much money you give – it’s about how hard you fight and how strongly you believe in the conservative principles and common-sense values that provide the foundation upon which our party was built.”

Dobson said she and her husband, Bobby – whom she met while in Texas – have contributed to conservative PACs and GOP candidates.

Brewbaker, who has vowed to not run negative ads against Dobson, was recently praised by Mobile conservative writer Quin Hillyer, a former congressional candidate in 2013. In a piece in the Washington Examiner, Hillyer called Brewbaker’s approach “Reaganesque” as he focuses on issues and defending his record.

“Some of the things she says about my record as a RINO … I mean, come on,” said Brewbaker, referring to an acronym that some conservatives use to criticize their fellow party members that means, “Republican in name only.” He then rattled off more endorsements that includes Lee Greenwood, whose “Proud to be an American” song is often played at Trump rallies.

Regulation

Dobson and Brewbaker recent squabbled during a debate hosted by the Mobile Chamber and highlighted their stances on regulation.

Dobson accused Brewbaker, during the Mobile Chamber debate, of supporting state legislation that increase regulations against industries like interior design. Brewbaker said Dobson was misstating his record, adding that he has long opposed overregulation of industry while operating a car dealership in Montgomery for over 35 years.

Dobson, who grew up on her family’s cattle farm and has highlighted her agricultural roots in advertising, has the endorsement from groups like FarmPAC and Forest PAC, the political action committee of the Alabama Forest Association.

She said overregulation is “hampering economic expansion and increasing costs for consumers and businesses alike.” She said that Congress must stop excessive spending “that fuels inflation and acts as a hidden tax” on Alabamians.

“I am committed to codifying President Trump’s Regulatory Bill of Rights and eliminating red tape that stifles business and innovation,” she said. “In Congress, I will advocate for protecting individuals and businesses from federal regulator burdens, defend the freedoms of businesses as promised in our Constitution, and vote to reduce costs for Alabamians.”

Brewbaker said the biggest issue in the campaign is controlling inflation, noting that the redrawn District 2 includes a lot of poorer counties and rural areas where rising food costs are eroding a family’s buying power.

He blames green energy initiatives for creating an uptick in costs, and says the U.S. needs to reconsider its energy policy.

But he disputes Dobson’s claims he’s not supportive of Trump enough because of past criticism he has about Trump’s original tariff policies on imported products like aerospace components from Europe. He said that had those policies been implemented, it would have crippled Airbus’ ability to build commercial planes, and employ over 1,000 workers, in Mobile.

“That would’ve hurt Hyundai and Mercedes, but it would’ve killed Airbus,” Brewbaker said about those past tariff proposals. “It would have added $10 million to the price of every Airbus plane and make them non-competitive with Boeing. I will this, Trump did listen, and he changed his proposal and carved out an exception made at U.S. assembly plants.”

Voter ID vote

Dobson also takes issue with a past vote Brewbaker made to support reducing penalties for falsifying voter ID cards.

That was a bill had mixed reviews and even our own caucus lawyers (supported it) on the way that was written,” Brewbaker said. “I’ve cast a lot of votes. I voted for photo ID to make voting more secure. To pin me on one vote out of 50 is typical of the lying she has been doing on my record since we started. I haven’t run a negative ad, and I’m not going to. She has proven to lie to get what she wants. I’ve proven to, win or lose, to get out of this with my integrity intact.”

Dobson said Brewbaker’s response of saying “I cast votes as a career politician, but only one of them was bad” is compared to the late Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy saying, “I drove a car lots of times but only drove off the bridge at Chappaquiddick once,” in reference to the 1968 crash in which Kennedy was driving that resulted in the death of a 28-year-old passenger.

“At a time when the integrity of Alabama’s election was at stake, he abandoned Republican principles and cast his lot with the liberal Democrats,” Dobson said. “It is time for Dick Brewbaker be held accountable for this shameful vote.”

Immigration

Brewbaker and Dobson also hold differing views on protecting the U.S.-Mexico border, with Dobson taking a hardline “close the border” approach, saying that the U.S. is “being invaded” and is “under attack.”

She said if elected, she will support funding for continued construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, support a reinstatement of a Trump era “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date. She also wants to see strict protocols “to ensure that individuals illegally crossing our border are sent back to Mexico to stop further entry.”

Brewbaker, who supports border control is concerned about fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico, said more National Guardsman can be deployed to the border to secure it and prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the country.

But he said phrases like “close the border” illustrate “throwing tropes” at voters.

“We have $2 billion in trade that passes the southern border every day,” he said. “If you close the southern border, you will put hundreds of thousands of Americans on the unemployment line instantly. We can secure it without closing it. It’s not hard nor is it complicated, we just need to do it.”

Brewbaker said he supports more “serious discussions” with the Mexican government.

“These illegal drugs have one thing in common, they are coming into America with the permission of apparently the Mexican government,” he said. “We can secure the border and can do it without shutting down legitimate trade that is moving back and forth.”