‘You’ve Got to Go Vote’: Corey Hill Urges Mobile Republicans to Turn Out Even if They Skip the Governor’s Race

MOBILE, Ala. — Corey Hill, the Republican nominee for Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, brought a get-out-the-vote message to a Mobile Republican women’s club this week as Hurricane Isaias approached the coast. He told GOP voters to turn out in November even if they don’t like everything at the top of the ballot.

Hill spoke to the Azalea City Republican Women for nearly 20 minutes about his plans for the agriculture department. He then turned to the Nov. 3 general election, saying down-ballot Republicans need party loyalists at the polls even if some voters are unhappy with the party’s choice for governor.

“I’ve had people say, well, I’m not a Democrat, but I don’t like the top pick for governor. I am not going to vote that thing. I said you’ve got to go vote. It affects all of us down ballot, Caroleene, me, everybody,” Hill said. “So, that’s one of the talking points, as you go out in the communities the next three weeks, encourage your people to just go vote.”

Hill’s mention of “Caroleene” appeared to refer to Caroleene Dobson, the Republican nominee for Alabama secretary of state. She is also on the statewide ballot this fall.

‘Click that little Republican box’

Hill acknowledged that some Republican voters may skip a race they don’t like. He said he would prefer they didn’t, but that what matters most is getting them to vote.

“If they have to leave one person, one thing off, maybe that’s fine. I wish they wouldn’t do that,” he told the attendees. “But if they just click that little Republican box at the top, then it ain’t like they’re voting for somebody in particular. Maybe they get by that way. So, we just got to encourage our folks to go vote.”

The “box at the top” refers to Alabama’s straight-party option. Alabama is one of a small number of states that still let voters choose all of one party’s nominees with a single mark at the top of the general election ballot. Voters who use that option can still mark individual races, and a vote marked in a specific race counts for that race.

Hill did not name the gubernatorial candidate he was referring to. The Republican nominee for governor is U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who faces Democratic nominee Doug Jones, a former U.S. senator, in November.

Four ways to help

Hill handed out flyers titled “4 Ways You can help Corey Hill get republicans to the polls.” They suggested:

• Text reminders: The day before the election, send a reminder to everyone in your phone.
• Election Day lunch: Have lunch with friends on Election Day, then go vote together.
• “Be a blessing to an elderly friend”: Give a ride to the polls to an older friend who may not get out much anymore.
• Bring the family: Take your family to the polls, because, as Hill put it, “It starts at home.”

Hill’s plans for the department

Most of Hill’s speech described what he would do as agriculture commissioner. His priorities include:

• A rural crime task force. Hill wants to bring back a rural crime task force at the department. During his campaign, he has said he wants to restore a unit that once handled crimes such as livestock and trailer theft.
• Foreign seafood. Hill said he would ban foreign seafood products that he described as frequently misrepresented as local.
• Sweet Grown Alabama. He wants to expand Sweet Grown Alabama, the state’s agricultural branding program for locally grown products.
• Farm to School. Hill said he would like to expand Farm to School programs that help Alabama farmers supply fresh food to local schools, pointing to Elmore County Schools as an example.

Sweet Grown Alabama launched in August 2019 as a nonprofit foundation and statewide branding program. Farmers and makers of value-added products can join and label their Alabama-grown goods with its logo so shoppers can find them in stores, and members are listed in an online directory. Its founding board included the sitting agriculture commissioner and leaders of the Alabama Farmers Federation.

Farm to School efforts connect school cafeterias with nearby growers. They let districts buy produce and other foods from Alabama farms, and they give farmers another place to sell what they grow.

A swipe at the other party

Without naming anyone, Hill also addressed voters who might consider candidates from the other party who are seen as moderate.

“Some people will say about certain candidates, ‘They’re not woke, they’re not crazy,’ but they’re still affiliated with a party that believes in killing babies and open borders. And I can’t support anybody like that, and I hope you can’t either, because there is some affiliation there,” Hill said.

The race for agriculture commissioner

Hill faces Democrat Ron Sparks, who served two terms as Alabama’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, from 2003 to 2011. Sparks was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2010. He qualified in January to run again for his old office.

Sparks has picked up support across party lines. Former Alabama Attorney General Troy King, a Republican, endorsed him in August, and the Alabama AFL-CIO is among his endorsers.

Hill is the mayor of Douglas, a small town in Marshall County in north Alabama. He is a lifelong Douglas resident who says he still farms, and he has described his family’s businesses as including a poultry farm, a cattle farm and a grocery store. He attended Snead State Community College and Jacksonville State University.

Hill won the Republican nomination in a close contest. In the May 19 primary, he finished first with about 35% of the vote, just ahead of Christina Woerner McInnis, with state Sen. Jack Williams third. Hill then defeated McInnis in the June 16 runoff with about 53% of the vote.

The seat is open because Commissioner Rick Pate, a Republican, is term-limited after two terms.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the state, Hill had raised about $581,000 and spent about $553,000 through Aug. 31, leaving about $68,000 on hand. Sparks had raised about $153,000 and spent about $58,000, with about $100,000 on hand.

What the agriculture commissioner does

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries is one of Alabama’s statewide elected executive officers and serves a four-year term. The commissioner leads the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, which handles a broad range of regulatory and promotional work. That includes food safety inspections, checking that gas pumps and grocery scales are accurate, regulating pesticides and animal feed, protecting livestock and poultry from disease, and promoting Alabama farm products.

Agriculture and forestry are among Alabama’s largest industries. Poultry, cattle, cotton, peanuts and timber are among the state’s leading farm and forest products.

Voting in Alabama’s Nov. 3 election

Hill urged the club’s members to spend the next three weeks encouraging people to vote. Here is what Alabama voters should know before the general election:

• Registration: Voters can check their registration status and polling place through the Alabama Secretary of State’s website at AlabamaVotes.gov. The registration deadline is 15 days before the election.
• Photo ID: Alabama requires voters to show valid photo identification at the polls. Free voter ID cards are available from county boards of registrars and the Secretary of State’s Office.
• Absentee voting: Voters who qualify to vote absentee can apply through their county’s absentee election manager. Deadlines apply.
• Polling hours: Polls in Alabama are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.