Oh, it has been fun down here.
The reason for the big brawls is that the current Governor, Bob (don't dare call him Robert, not here in Alabama) Reilly, is leaving due to term limits, so the race is wide open. Reilly is quite conservative, but at least has shown a reasonable amount of intelligence and wit and hasn't been overly hung up on the social agenda (except for Gambling--he's strongly against that), so he's 'tolerable'.
The seven Republicans are all trying to get to the right of the current Governor, who is already well to the right, to "appeal to the base'. Primary voting in Alabama is restricted, you have to declare at the voting site if you want a Republican or Democratic ballot, so they are trying to appeal to the tea-party types who will be motivated to come out to vote in June. Hence the ads.
The Democrats are just a loopy, there are two candidates, one black and one white. But the black candidate is not part of the "network" of black politicians and activists, so they are supporting the white candidate, while a lot of whites are supporting the black guy.....
I'm sorta rooting for Judge Roy "10 Commandments in the Courthouse" Moore to win, because (1) It would probably let the Democratic candidate win and (2) If Moore wins, it will keep the rest of the country entertained for 4 years....
Voting was today. We shall see.