Birmingham business executive Jessica Taylor launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, proclaiming a love for “God, guns, family, fishing and four-wheeling,” and promising to take on socialists, big tech and radical liberals. Read more.
The 2022 state primary elections are nearly 11 months away, but several candidates in contested races got off to strong fundraising starts in June. One candidate lent himself $250,000 for his statewide office bid. House District 54 Incumbent Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, raised nearly $19,000 in cash contributions in June. Brit Blalock in her bid to
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt raised $2.24 million in the first three weeks since she announced she’s seeking the office, her campaign said today. Ninety percent of that total came from within the state. Read more. In related news: Primary Challengers, Incumbents Raising Funds for ’22
Fourteen states passed 22 election laws this year, some of which caused a stir as voting advocates complained that they restricted the rights of voters, while others argued the new laws were needed to add security to the vote. Alabama has eight new election-related laws this year out of 27 voting-related bills introduced in the Legislature. While some stirred opposition in the state, it was nothing like the national outrage over changes in some other states. That’s at least partly because Alabama already had adopted one of the most controversial bills passed in other states – a requirement that voters show ID at the polls was passed here in 2014 – and because Georgia attracted so much attention for its ban on delivering water to voters standing in line at the polls. Alabama did pass a few other laws. One to ban curbside voting, which was not being offered in any of the counties, anyway. Others require a partial post-election audit in three counties, move up the deadline for applying to vote by absentee ballot, and specifically make it a crime to vote in Alabama and another state, for instance. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Term-limited state Auditor Jim Zeigler is forming an exploratory committee to test the water as a possible GOP challenger to Gov. Kay Ivey next year. Zeigler has been Ivey's chief critic over the past four years, opposing several of her proposals, including plans for a new Interstate 10 bridge over the Mobile Bay, the plan to lease three new, large prisons and a constitutional amendment to replace the elected state school board with an appointed commission. He touted himself as the “common sense” candidate, according to a press release today. Read more.
State Rep. Andrew Sorrell, R-Muscle Shoals, formally announced his campaign for state auditor Monday, saying he wants to bring more responsibilities to the role. Read more.
Brit Blalock, a community organizer and Orange Beach native, has announced that she will challenge state Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, for the Democratic nomination for House District 54. But the leader of House Democrats says they'll firmly back the incumbent. Blalock said in a campaign ad that her experience fighting for progressive causes makes her the right voice to represent the Birmingham district. “When I saw my LGBTQ community’s isolation, I built organizations to foster belonging,” Blalock said. “When reproductive freedom was threatened, I created a coalition to fight back. When I heard the cries for racial justice fall on deaf ears, I took to the streets. When I found out that women only hold 15% of our legislative seats, I rolled up my sleeves to help women candidates win. The race pits Blalock, who identifies as non-binary, against Rafferty, the only openly gay member in the Legislature. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Republican Stan Cooke, a pastor from Kimberly, announced his campaign for state auditor Wednesday. Current Auditor Jim Zeigler is term limited and cannot run for reelection. Cooke said in a statement that his conservative Christian background makes him an ideal candidate to be auditor. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Club for Growth PAC, the campaign arm of the Washington, D.C.-based conservative group, endorsed Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, in the race for U.S. Senate. Read more.
For those who wondered whether the oldest sitting governor in the United States would seek four more years in office, Kay Ivey has provided her answer. Ivey announced Wednesday that she will seek a second full term in the 2022 gubernatorial election. In a video announcement, Ivey touted the accomplishments of her administration since 2017, with a handful of her famous homespun expressions thrown in for good measure, including one of her most famous lines, “There’s no step too high for a high-stepper.” In scenes filled with sweeping vistas and familiar Alabama sights that are staples of many a campaign ad, she described Alabama as a place “where a red dirt road can take you anywhere, and the sky is never the limit.” Read more.
