Dale Peterson, the gun-toting, horse-riding, “ag commish” candidate who said he was going to take it to the “thugs and criminals” if elected disappointed his national following cultivated with his outlandish campaign video by placing third in his Alabama primary Tuesday night.
Peterson, running for agricultural commissioner in Alabama, became a YouTube sensation with his John Wayne, no-nonsense style “We Are Better Than That,” campaign video.
He wasn’t able to make it into the run-off, getting fewer votes than opponents John McMillan and Dorman Grace, who will face off in July.
Tim James, another Alabamian whose campaign video telling voters that Alabamians speak English also became an internet sensation, is still fighting for the chance to be in July’s run-off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ohsvJHkbYJames is facing the possibility of a recount to determine whether he stays in the race. While former state Sen. Bradley Byrne has already taken one of the two run-off slots, James and state Rep. Robert Bentley are locked in a virtual tie while provisional ballots in the state are counted. It will be a major upset if Bentley edges James.
One of Alabama’s YouTube stars had a good night. Young Boozer (yes, that’s his real name), whose ads described him as a candidate with a “funny name, but serious leadership,” won the GOP primary for state treasurer over George Wallace Jr., the son of the late-governor of the state.