Birmingham, AL – Experts say the 2012 race for most of the seats on the Alabama Supreme Court will need strong Democratic candidates or hot primaries to approach the record spending seen in the 2006 election.
Officials from both parties say that the likelihood of that happening will become clearer after qualifying starts Nov. 14 for Republicans and Dec. 3 for Democrats.
The spending season already has begun in the most expensive state in the nation to run for a high court seat, where candidates routinely spend $1 million or more.
In addition to the chief justice, Alabama voters will choose four associate justices for six-year terms on the nine-member court.
In 2006, the last time these court seats were on the line, candidates spent $13.5 million total.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)