ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — A Baldwin County state Senate race has turned combative over campaign cash, after independent challenger Kimberly McCuiston accused Republican incumbent Trip Pittman of misleading voters about his promise not to accept political action committee money.
The dispute traces back to a candidates forum held in Robertsdale, sponsored by the Common Sense Campaign, where Pittman told the crowd he doesn’t take PAC contributions. “I think that I have lived up to promises I’ve made in terms of not taking special interest money,” Pittman said at the forum. “I’m the only person in Montgomery who doesn’t take PAC money.”
McCuiston says that claim doesn’t hold up against Pittman’s own campaign finance filings, which show tens of thousands of dollars in PAC contributions flowing into his campaign account in 2010 and 2011. Records cited by McCuiston include a $5,000 donation from the Alabama Power Employees PAC, $3,500 from Alabama Acre PAC, $5,000 from the Alabama Medical PAC and two separate $5,000 contributions from DST PAC. “He mentioned it three times during the debate,” McCuiston said. “When you stand up before your own people … then you should be able to believe that person. And once again, he’s spinning.”
Pittman doesn’t dispute that the donations happened, but argues the timing and context matter. He noted Alabama law allows contributions made within 120 days after an election to count toward that prior election cycle — meaning the PAC money he accepted came in even though he ran unopposed in 2010. Pittman said he used those funds, along with other contributions, to help his party take control of the state Senate rather than to benefit his own race. “We were trying to take over the Legislature last time,” he said. “I agreed to take money (from PACs) because there were candidates who were trying to upset incumbents who didn’t have access to PAC funds.”
This election cycle, Pittman’s donor list includes a mix of corporate and lobbying interests: $7,500 from Selma-based government relations firm The Cosby Co., $2,500 each from Alabama Banking Services Inc. and Montgomery lobbying firm Fine Geddie & Associates, and $2,000 apiece from AT&T Alabama, TitleMax and U.S. Steel. Companies including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Austal USA, Columbia Southern University, Cunningham Bounds and Microsoft each gave $1,000.
McCuiston, who is running without a party affiliation, said the volume of corporate money is exactly why she jumped into the race. “This is one of the reasons I ran as an independent,” she said. “The majority of people who look at it, it appears hinky. He’s no longer representing people.”
Pittman, who chairs the Senate’s education budget committee, said he draws a line between accepting reasonable contributions and being unduly influenced, and that he has turned away larger offers and donors who later sought favors. District 32 covers the Eastern Shore and south Baldwin County, and voters will decide between the two candidates on Nov. 4.