Alabama Republican’s $5 Million Dollar Do-Over

Wednesday, the heavens opened, the deluge poured down, and the Alabama State House had to be evacuated due to flooding.

Some Democrats said it was proof that God Almighty was angry at what the Republicans were doing in this Special Session.

Of course, since the flood interrupted a Democrat filibuster of the bill in the Senate, it could also be said that He sent the rain to make the Democrats shut up.

Personally, I think it was both, since He is a merciful and just God. He knows what the Republicans are doing is a political power grab, plain and simple. On the other hand…have you ever listened to some of those Democrats when they get going? After about two minutes, it makes me want to run screaming naked through the State House with a chainsaw — and don’t nobody want to see that!

Just AND merciful.

Not that a little flood is going to slow down what’s coming. Come hell or high water (literally), the Republicans are going to get their map do-over. HB1 — the Congressional Districts bill, that will flip us back to the 2023 map — and SB1 — the State Senate Districts 25 and 26 bill, that restores the 2021 map — are going to pass and be sent to the Governor either Thursday or Friday.

That fix is already in, no matter how much the Democrats screech about how racist it is.

Let’s just put that aside for now — tearing into some of the Democrat’s underlying assumptions about race and representation will take a column or three to demolish them as thoroughly as they deserve. We’ll start with the “Black-preferred” numbers from Allen v Milligan and go from there. But, right now, I want to rip into the Republicans over something that not nearly enough people are talking about:

The Price Tag.

Spoiler alert: it’s $5 million dollars.

That’s according to the fiscal notes on HB1 and SB1. 

HB1 will cost the State General Fund an estimated $4.45 million to put on special elections in the new 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts.

SB1 is a bargain at only $600,000 — but that’s only for a measly two Senate Districts.

Yeah, let’s just round it to $5 million. It’s only an estimate, anyway; we all know about estimates from Goat Hill. What was the overrun in the 2025 session on the megaprisons? How many hundreds of millions?

The Republicans are prepared to make Alabamians pay that, because a) can you really put a price on political power? and b) it’s not THEIR money — it’s YOURS.

If this last regular session taught us anything, it’s that it’s not your power, either. PSC, anyone?

As I’ve said before, I have a problem with that price tag. And, I suspect the Republicans will have a problem with it, when the Democrats pound them mercilessly with it between now and November.

But…HB1 and SB1 may come to naught. There are three different Courts that have to act in the Republican’s favor to let the special primaries happen. We’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, there are still races to be held on May 19th, regardless. 

And, there’s always the possibility that the Republican Party will suddenly decide to save the taxpayers of Alabama $5 million dollars and hold a nominating convention to get their candidates in those Districts.

Or maybe the aliens will come and give us all something bigger to worry about.

Only time will tell, at this point.

Dr. Bill Chitwood is the Managing Editor of ALPolitics.com. He is the author, under his nom de guerre Doc Contrarian, of Beyond MAGA: From Trump campaign slogan to political movement to restoring the Republic. He identifies as Conservatarian Contrarian and a staunch Constitutional Originalist. He enjoys being called a First Amendment Nazi — mainly because he is.

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