Tag: Governor race
Zeigler Forms Exploratory Committee for Bid for Governor
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.
Ivey leads Republican sweep of statewide races
Gov. Kay Ivey turned back Democratic challenger Walt Maddox on Tuesday and led the Republican ticket to a clean sweep of statewide races in Alabama.
“The people of Alabama have spoken loud and clear: We want to keep Alabama on the right track and keep Alabama working,” Ivey declared before cheering supporters Tuesday night at a Montgomery hotel.
“It is with immense gratitude that I stand before you tonight as the next governor of Alabama. … Tonight, today, together we have made history — the first Republican woman to be elected governor.” Read more.
Kay Ivey’s Campaign for Governor out of Public Spotlight, in Friendly Terrain
Seen incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey on the campaign trail lately? If you have, you’re one of a small group of Alabamians.
Ivey’s drive for election to the state’s top office – a post she’s held since her predecessor, Dr. Robert Bentley, resigned in disgrace – has been low key, close to invisible. Since Sept. 20, Ivey has appeared at nine official events, but the only one geared toward the general public was a meet-and-greet on the Cullman County Courthouse steps held Friday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. — a time when many residents were well on their way to see their Cullman High Bearcats kick off at Hartselle an hour later.
All the rest have been at Republican Party rallies and dinners. They have run the gamut from the well-attended Tuscaloosa County GOP Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at Bryant-Denny Stadium, a Baldwin County GOP fish fry, and a hastily scheduled rally at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership last Saturday morning in Pelham, where about 40 people met the governor.
The schedule has been light. Some of that is because Ivey still has gubernatorial duties that don’t go away come election time. Still, her appearances have been few and mostly geared toward party faithful. At nearly all the events, Ivey stuck to a well-rehearsed “stump speech” that has rarely varied from place to place.
A political analyst said the “boring” approach might have been just the thing for the popular Republican running in a deep-red state. Read more.
Maddox Defines Himself as Voice of Progress as Election Day Nears
At the end of what many have deemed a Sisyphean campaign, Walt Maddox is making a final appeal to voters. His argument? Think of the future.
Maddox, who has been mayor of Tuscaloosa since 2005, has always been a long shot to win the governor’s seat. He’s a Democrat in a deep-red state that hasn’t elected a Democratic governor since 1999, running against an opponent with one of the highest approval ratings in the country, a sizeable fundraising lead, and significantly more name recognition.
But Maddox’s campaign has attempted to frame him as a viable challenger, establishing him as a voice of progress for a stagnating Alabama. He’s worked to distance himself from the liberal Democrat label, saying he’s pro-life and supports gun rights. And in advance of a final campaign push this weekend, he says his polling shows him within the margin of error away from victory.
Most polls have placed Maddox well below Kay Ivey, who took office last year after her predecessor, Robert Bentley, resigned amid a sex scandal. She’s seeking her first full term in the office.
But she has been a spectral presence on the campaign trail, making few public appearances and refusing to debate.
In the final weeks of the campaign, Maddox has shifted from calling for that debate to insisting that the differences between the candidates are self-apparent — which is, essentially, what Ivey herself has argued. Read more.
Ivey Still Leads in Fundraising Days Before the Election
Here Are the Biggest Contributors to the Gubernatorial and Chief Justice Campaigns
More than $6.5 million has been raised in the past 18 months or so to fund campaigns for the governor’s office in Alabama. Most of it has been raised on the Republican side, with Gov. Kay Ivey netting $4.49 million in her first run for a full term. Democrat Walt Maddox, now mayor of Tuscaloosa, has collected $2.08 million in cash for his race.
Following are contributions of $5,000 and up to the campaigns of Kay Ivey and Walt Maddox, through Oct. 29. Read more.
‘Better, Brighter, More Dynamic:’ With Numbers Showing Him Behind Incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey, Walt Maddox Reaches out to Young Voters
Walt Maddox kicked off the final week of his campaign for Alabama governor Monday night with a visit to Auburn University, where he spoke with students about issues pertaining to the state’s college-aged demographic.
“It’s a lot of fun being here with college students,” Maddox said after the event. “This election, unlike a lot of other elections, is going to impact them directly.”
He’d received the most feedback from younger voters, he said, about college scholarships. A central plank of Maddox’s campaign platform has been the creation of a statewide education lottery — from which he has pledged $125 million in annual funding to be allocated toward college scholarships and workforce readiness programs.
A large part of the discussion also focused on fighting voter apathy, “especially among younger voters, and especially college students,” Maddox said. Read more.
Walt Maddox
Ivey Says Lottery Approval Is up to Legislature, Voters
Gov. Kay Ivey isn’t necessarily a big fan of a new state lottery, but she would not get in the way if the Legislature and Alabama voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to legalize the games.
That’s the position the Republican, who’s running for election to a full term after succeeding former Gov. Robert Bentley after his resignation, expressed Tuesday to reporters before a speech to the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Birmingham. On the same day, many Alabamians were headed for Tennessee, Florida and Georgia to purchase tickets for a MegaMillions national lottery with a jackpot of more than $1.6 million, plus a Powerball jackpot on Wednesday of at least $620 million. Read more.
Ivey Widens Fundraising Gap Against Maddox in Governor’s Race
With the election two weeks away, Gov. Kay Ivey continues to widen her financial advantage over Democratic challenger Walt Maddox, according to reports filed Monday with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office.
Ivey, a Republican seeking her first full term as governor, reported raising $193,291 in itemized cash contributions from Oct. 13 to Oct. 19. Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa, reported contributions of $104,878.
The governor has raised $4.34 million since the current election cycle began last year. Maddox has collected $2.03 million. Read more.
