Montgomery attorney Caroleene Dobson criticized her April 16 runoff opponent Dick Brewbaker for what she said were questionable votes he made while a state lawmaker on reducing sentences for habitual criminals and backing regulations against businesses, while not standing up strong enough to support former President Donald Trump on trade policy and other issues.
Brewbaker, a former state Senator from 2010-2018 representing Montgomery, repeatedly accused Dobson of lying about his record, saying she has done so throughout the campaign. He defended his career as a longtime automobile dealer who “knows more about regulations on businesses than a lawyer from Texas,” in a shot at Dobson who was a practicing attorney in San Antonio before joining the Maynard Nexsen law firm in 2019.
The two exchanged a few sharp barbs during a pre-taped candidates debate that was held last Monday inside Mobile’s Government Plaza. The private debate was broadcast for the first time on Monday on WALA-TV in Mobile and WSFA-TV in Montgomery. The media, aside from the two TV networks, were barred from attending.
“We don’t need to send a retired career politician to Washington,” Dobson, a political newcomer said. “If you stand with me, I’ll stand tall with President Trump. I’m the strong conservative with a backbone who can defeat the Democrats in November.”
Said Brewbaker, “Everything she has said about my record is a misrepresentation.”
The two are engaged in a high-stakes primary runoff. The winner will face either Democratic challenger Shomari Figures or Anthony Daniels during the November general election in a contest for the newly drawn district the U.S. Supreme Court recently forced Alabama to create, a district covering much of the Black Belt and rural areas between Montgomery and Mobile.
The Daniels-Figures pre-taped debate will run on Tuesday.
The seat is considered competitive during the general election, and the race could play a crucial role in determining which political party holds the majority next year in the U.S. House.
Regulations and immigration
For Dobson and Brewbaker, few differences stuck out. The two support Israel in its war with Gaza, cited concerns about the future use of Tik Tok, and advocated for less gun control.
Two of the biggest differences between the candidates emerged on answers they gave about federal deregulation of businesses, and immigration reform.
Dobson accused Brewbaker of supporting state legislation, while he was in the Senate, that increase regulations against industries like interior design. Brewbaker said she was misstating his records, adding that he has long opposed overregulation of industry while operating a car dealership in Montgomery for over 35 years.
The two also differ on how to police the U.S.-Mexican border. Dobson said she supports a closure of the border, deporting undocumented immigrants including children born in the U.S. to an undocumented immigrant family.
“This is a full-on invasion,” Dobson said. “The National Guard in Texas is overrun … we need to close the border, build the wall, and send people home here illegally including children here born to (undocumented immigrants).”
She called the Biden Administration’s handling at the border “voter fraud,” saying it was the intent of President Joe Biden to “have as many new Democrats as they can register” and then criticized Brewbaker for voting in support of reducing penalties for falsifying voter ID cards.
Brewbaker said Dobson was “lying” about his record and said an outright closure at the border would disrupt trade.
“It’s important what we are talking about is that you can’t just close the border,” he said. “There is $2 billion in trade crossing the border. What we can do is put however many people on the border it takes to allow legitimate trade to occur both ways.”
Tariffs and Trump support
Brewbaker defended prior positions against the Trump Administration’s tariffs that were opposed by Alabama business leaders approximately four years ago. In fact, the Mobile City Council voted in 2020 to support a resolution urging Trump and then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to continue with a trade policy that did not apply tariffs on imported aerospace components from Europe. Those components are crucial for the assembly of commercial aircraft at the Airbus USA manufacturing plant in Mobile.
Former Alabama State Port Authority CEO Jimmy Lyons, at the time, accused the Trump Administration of putting jobs at risk through his tariff policies.
“My opponent is (criticizing) me on one of President Trump’s early tariff policies, which would have hurt the Port of Mobile,” Brewbaker said. “It would have raised the cost of each Airbus plane by $10 million and (raised the prices) on other (Alabama) plants like Mercedes. We need to protect industry in Mobile and protect them through fair trade policies.”
Dobson said she is supportive of Mobile-based industry, saying she would back the littoral ship program that is backed by Mobile’s Austal shipyard. Dobson said that Brewbaker “has criticized” the LCS program that supplies military vessels to the U.S. Navy.
Education, endorsements, fundraising
Other differences also emerged. Brewbaker said he supported the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, while Dobson said a federal education office ensure that so-called critical race theory is not taught in public schools, while transgender athletes are not allowed to compete in girls sports.
“The problem with the intrusion of LGBTQ and transgender (issues) is that they are being developed in Washington and not in the states,” Brewbaker said.
Dobson touted her “anti-tax mantra” that she said she would take to Congress. She touted her endorsements from organizations like the Alabama Forestry Association. She has the support of FarmPAC, and agricultural-centered groups like the Peanut Producers Association and the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
Brewbaker said he supports tax cuts, and term limits. He is backed by some pro-Trump and conservative groups like Veterans for Trump, Eagle Forum, National Right to Life Committee, and he recently secured an endorsement from country-music singer and songwriter Lee Greenwood who is best known for the song, “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Brewbaker and Dobson are largely running self-funded campaigns. According to FEC figures, Brewbaker has raised 1.8 million as of March 27, while Dobson has raised $1.2 million. Brewbaker has loaned his campaign $1.6 million, while Dobson has loaned $992,000. Dobson has secured slightly more in small individual donations under $200, while Brewbaker leads in larger contributions.
Brewbaker finished in first with 39.6% of the vote during the March 5 primary, with Dobson in second at 26.5%. There were eight Republicans vying for the nomination, and it takes 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.
