Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey won the Alabama GOP gubernatorial primary on May 25, beating a crowded field of Republican candidates.
With an estimated 84 percent of the votes counted at 12:19 a.m. on May 25, Ivey received 55 percent of the vote.After a governorship that Ivey says improved infrastructure, increased education funding, and saw Alabama create 65,000 new jobs, the incumbent governor beat a crowded field of Republican primary challengers to pursue another term.
That eight candidates chose to run against Ivey is counterintuitive at first glance. Polls from seven months ago show that Ivey was the eighth-most popular governor in America at the time.
Ivey defeated, Lynda Blanchard who received 19.4 percent of the vote and Tim James, who received 15.8 percent.Her term has also seen record-lows in unemployment, thousands of new jobs created, and reforms that keep lobbyists from being appointed to the executive branch.
These achievements and a strongly conservative platform appear to have been enough to give Ivey the GOP primary nomination and a likely shot at a second term.
Ivey, a conservative who emphasizes her Christian faith, is one of America’s most conservative governors.
Ivey has proven willing to depart from traditional conservative orthodoxy on some issues. She has supported a plan to allow six new casinos, a lottery, and sports betting. She has also supported legislation that creates lenient laws around medical marijuana.
Ivey supports former president Donald Trump and has run campaign ads saying that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.
Trump didn’t endorse a candidate in the race.
Ivey is expected to win the general election in the deep-red state. Republicans have won the state in every presidential election since 1980.
In the Democratic primary, Malika Sanders-Fortier and Yolanda Flowers will face each other in a runoff election, with the winner moving on to challenge Ivey.
