Clint Eastwood, Ronald Reagan and Jesus among vote-getters in turbulent Alabama Senate race
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former president Ronald Reagan and actor Clint Eastwood (AP/Reuters)
Some aren’t Alabama residents.
Other voter-getters aren’t even alive.
But actor Clint Eastwood, the late President Ronald Reagan and Jesus Christ were among those who received protest write-in votes in Alabama’s tempestuous Senate election this month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alabama’s Secretary of State’s office released the names of those who received write-in votes after Democrat Doug Jones was certified Thursday as the winner of the contest. Jones defeated scandal-plagued Republican nominee Roy Moore by more than 20,000 votes in the Dec. 12 election.
The race had a higher than normal number of write-in votes after allegations of sexual misconduct were lodged against Moore. Some voters in the deeply conservative state said they were simply uneasy about supporting either major nominee.
DOUG JONES CERTIFIED AS WINNER OF ALABAMA SENATE RACE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and outgoing GOP Sen. Luther Strange received write-in votes in Tuesday’s Senate race. (AP/AP/Reuters)
According to the results, the most popular write-in choices included outgoing Alabama Republican Sen. Luther Strange, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and write-in candidate Lee Busby.
Other choices were more…colorful.
A number of celebrities got votes, including Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson, former basketball player Charles Barkley, musician Billy Joel, singer Beyonce, reality television star Kris Jenner and actors Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris and Matthew McConaughey.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A variation of Jesus or Jesus Christ received multiple votes in the state.
Saban, Alabama’s football coach, won more, but Auburn’s coach Gus Malzon scored a few votes.
Several former presidents were written in, including Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton. President Trump himself got votes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Both singer Jimmy Buffett and investor Warren Buffett received votes.
Some non-humans did too: Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Ghost of Stonewall Jackson, Kermit the Frog, Santa Claus, Snow White, Scooby Doo, Mickey Mouse, Harambe.
Boo Radley, the character in Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, received a vote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And one person voted for Your Mom.
A number of national political figures from outside Alabama also got votes, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain.
Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his counterpart Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer received votes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Etowah County, where Moore is from, one person voted for Leigh Corfman, one of the women who accused him of misconduct. Moore has denied the allegations.
“The people of Alabama were trying to make a statement with those write-in votes,” Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told Fox News on election night.
Alabama saw a surge in the number of write-ins, in comparison to 2016’s Senate race.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the results 22,852 people in Alabama voted Tuesday for a write-in candidate. That number is larger than the 21,924 votes by which Jones beat Moore, something that’s been cited in analyzing Moore’s defeat in the state.
In 2016, when senior Sen. Richard Shelby was up for re-election, just 3,631 people wrote in candidates.
Shelby said he couldn’t bring himself to vote for Moore or a Democrat like Jones, so he wrote in a “distinguished Republican" instead. His announcement is believed to have influenced other Republicans to cast write-in votes too.