A Democratic group recommends Alabama Senate voters just write in Nick Saban’s name

Alabama will elect a U.S. senator on Tuesday in a special election. It’ll be either Democrat Doug Jones or Republican Roy Moore. It will not be Nick Saban, the Alabama football coach. Anyway:

That’s a step-by-step instructional video by a Democratic political group, taking voters through how to write in a candidate whose name isn’t Moore’s.

Democrats would rather Alabamians vote for Jones, but writing in a non-Moore name is better for them than a vote for the scandal-abundant Moore. Alabama’s senior senator, Republican Richard Shelby, is among those to urge a write-in vote instead of a vote for either candidate.

Saban’s won four national championships at Alabama, where football’s pretty important. If he ever sought political office in the state, he’d probably have some support. (Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville considered a gubernatorial run earlier this year and decided to pass.)

If anyone asks Saban about the ad at a pre-College Football Playoff press availability, he will not like it. I know this because he responded to questions about the 2016 presidential election by acting like he didn’t know the election had happened.

I believe him. The election wasn’t that big of a news story at the time.

In the 2012 presidential race, Saban got dozens of write-in votes in Alabama. He surely gets at least a couple every time there’s a statewide election. It seems likely that Saban’s name will turn up on even more ballots this week.