AL-05: Griffith Leads by 8 in New Poll

Anzalone Liszt for the DCCC (10/12-14, likely voters):

Parker Griffith (D): 46

Wayne Parker (R): 38

(MoE: ±4.9%)

Those are decent numbers for Griffith as he fights to hold this open seat, but he’s also been dealing with some big hits from Republicans this week over out-of-context quotes pulled from a religious forum held last month. (You can read more about that here.) Even though, in their proper context, Griffith’s remarks were not offensive, there’s no question that this was a bit of a goof. But at least he has some help in his own defense:

David Carpenter, a Baptist minister from Florence, was the moderator of the forum last month. He said he was “shocked by the misuse of the quote from that event.

“I sat right between Wayne Parker and Dr. Griffith during the program and thought both did an excellent job discussing issues of faith and their views,” Carpenter said. “The response that is being used against Parker Griffith was part of his comment in a longer discussion of whether radical Islam was a threat to our Christian faith.

“I was there when he said these quotes and can tell you that they have been taken out of context, and it is unfortunate that anyone would misrepresent the truth in this way.”