The winner of the Alabama Republican primary for governor is incumbent Kay Ivey, scoring more than 50% of the vote needed to prevent a runoff for the highly sought-after seat.
Ivey beat back challenges by former Lieutenant Gov. Tim James, son of ex-Gov. Fob James, and Lindy Blanchard, who was ambassador to Slovenia during the Trump administration.
Ivey’s campaign advertisements hinged significantly on the credentials of former President Donald Trump, touting his 2020 election fraud claims and elevating concerns over rising numbers of migrants crossing the southern border.
ALABAMA GOP GOV. KAY IVEY ELECTION AD LEANS INTO TRUMP ‘STOLEN ELECTION’ CLAIMS
Some of her Republican opponents lobbed attacks at Ivey for backing a plan in 2019 to raise the state’s diesel and gasoline tax by 10 cents, though much of this criticism came after the nation saw rising fuel costs due to inflation.
“If Gov. Ivey can’t see the need for suspending the gas tax, then she’s either lost her willingness to stand up for the people of Alabama, or her office has been overwhelmed by special interests who benefit from the higher taxes and bloated public budgets,” James tweeted on March 30.
The contest for governor was particularly notable given that Alabama has not hosted a Senate and gubernatorial primary runoff on the same day since September 1978, during former President Jimmy Carter’s administration, when the state was still under Democratic control.
Republican elections in the state were also lacking any endorsement from Trump, who did not put his backing behind any candidate after he withdrew his endorsement of Rep. Mo Brooks for the Senate primary in March.
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Ivey raised more than $6.6 million in her bid to maintain her seat as governor while facing steep challenges from both James and Lindy Blanchard, Trump’s former ambassador to Slovenia who joined the race after discussing the possibility of an endorsement by him that never came to fruition.
Recent polls showed strong approval ratings of 62% for the 77-year-old Alabama governor, according to a late-April survey from Morning Consult. Ivey has held the office for nearly six years after being elected in 2017.
