When the political action committee of the 435,000-member Alabama Farmers Federation announced its endorsements for June’s Democratic and Republican primaries, one Congressional incumbent was noticeably absent: party-switching Rep. Parker Griffith (R).

Farm-PAC, which carries a healthy amount of political clout in the state, endorsed every other member of Alabama’s Congressional delegation who is seeking re-election and is also backing state Rep. Earl Hilliard Jr. (D) in the open 7th district race to replace Rep. Artur Davis (D), who is running for governor.

Since he announced that he was switching parties in late December, Griffith, who is now a Republican, has been criticized by Democrats, and some local Republican groups have expressed concerns about whether Griffith made his decision out of political necessity rather than a true philosophical change of heart.

Jeff Helms of the Alabama Farmers Federation said Farm-PAC could still make an endorsement in Griffith’s district before the primary, but “the farmer leaders in that area were waiting for the dust to settle a little bit.—