Although the candidate filing deadline for Alabama legislative races is April 12th, 2010 (June 1st for independent candidates), we at the DLCC strongly believe it’s never too early to start planning and organizing. That’s why we’re so happy to see that Doc’s Political Parlor, one of the best local political blogs in Alabama, has published a complete candidate list and race rankings for every legislative race in the state.

As more candidates announce their campaigns and as individual races develop, these rankings will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in Alabama politics. And since Democrats now control two fairly conservative U.S. House seats in the state (AL-02 and AL-05), Alabama’s legislative races will determine whether Democrats can protect those seats from Republican gerrymandering after the census.

Also, if the commenters at Swing State Project follow through, we might soon be treated to a whole series of legislative race rankings from around the country – something we definitely look forward to.