From Byrne’s wikipedia entry:

During the campaign, he was accused of supporting evolution, to which he replied, “As a Christian and as a public servant, I have never wavered in my belief that this world and everything in it is a masterpiece created by the hands of God … As a member of the Alabama Board of Education, the record clearly shows that I fought to ensure the teaching of creationism in our school text books. Those who attack me have distorted, twisted and misrepresented my comments and are spewing utter lies to the people of this state.”[14]

This is the guy the LA Times writer wants to paint as a mainstream alternative to Tea Partier he beat.