Katherine Robertson, Jay Mitchell headed to GOP runoff for AG nomination

Deputy Attorney General Katherine Robertson and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell Tuesday moved to a June 16 runoff for the Republican nomination for attorney general.

As of 11 p.m.,  Robertson had garnered 183,340 votes ( 41%) in unofficial returns, while Mitchell had 154,657 votes (34%). Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey had 111,690 votes (25%).

In a statement sent early Wednesday morning, Mitchell’s campaign said the candidate would “stand unapologetically with law enforcement officers, defend Alabama’s pro-life laws, and proactively prevent attacks on Alabama’s way of life” while criticizing Robertson for accepting out-of-state donations.

Robertson’s campaign released a statement Wednesday morning saying “our position is the dominant one” and that she would continue “sharing our message of enforcing law and order, fighting the woke agenda, supporting President Trump, and daring to defend our rights with the Republican voters across Alabama.”

Robertson and Mitchell are campaigning to succeed Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is term-limited and is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate..

Both candidates centered their campaigns on national issues and focused on the nation’s cultural divide, spending relatively little time discussing particular state issues.  Mitchell aired campaign videos that focused terrorism, often using anti-Muslim rhetoric, as well as border security and immigration. Robertson, for her part, highlighted transgender matters.

Mitchell and Robertson also tried to label one another as more liberal than the other and made clear their allegiance to President Donald Trump.

Robertson raised about $2.5 million for her campaign while Mitchell received almost $2.7 million. Casey, for her part, raised about $625.000.   

Casey, on the other hand, made her experience as district attorney for Blount County the centerpiece of a campaign that largely focused on public safety.

The eventual nominee will face Democratic nominee Jeff McLaughlin, an attorney based in Guntersville and former state representative, in the fall election.

Updated at 9:34 a.m. with statement from the Jay Mitchell campaign and at 10:20 a.m. with comment from the Katherine Robertson campaign.