The special election to fill the open U.S. Senate seat in the state of Alabama between Roy Moore and Doug Jones took place on Tuesday, but it was a third surprise contender that made headlines as Alabamans attempt to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
That contender? Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban.
The man who has led Alabama to four national titles over the last eight seasons -- and could see a fifth this year if he wins the College Football Playoff -- received at least one write-in vote on Tuesday. We know this because at least one man who wrote Saban's name on his ballot shared his story with MSNBC and clearly gave some legitimate thought to the decision.
Alabama man suffers crisis of confidence in voting booth, places write in vote for Nick Saban (h/t @ChrisVannini) pic.twitter.com/yER94x6Lr5
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 12, 2017
How many votes will Saban get when every ballot is added up? We'll see. But Greg Dobbins, the man featured in the video above, isn't the only one.
11,000 write-ins in Alabama? That's an insane number. Can't wait to see how many of them are for Nick Saban. https://t.co/lo5mMqbr5N
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 13, 2017
I was one of the 11,000. I also predicted Nick Saban would finish third in this election. https://t.co/6PJuXzX6Oo
— Ryan Brown (@RyanBrownWJOX) December 13, 2017