The other party-switcher in the list of defeated incumbents this year, Mr. Griffith became a Republican in December, less than a year after he entered Congress as a freshman Democrat. Griffith was not a reliable vote for the majority before the switch; he voted against every major Democratic initiative, from the stimulus package to a cap and trade plan for carbon emissions. And he ruffled feathers – while still a Democrat – by joke-offering Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi a gift card to a mental health facility in a speech.
Griffith won support from the National Republican Congressional Committee, but Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks was supported by more constituents in Alabama's Fifth District. Mr. Brooks won the three-way June 1 primary with 51 percent of the vote. Griffith only got 33 percent in his first, and perhaps last, race as a Republican.
