Gov. Kay Ivey won the Republican primary Tuesday, a major step toward becoming the first woman twice elected to Alabama’s highest political office.
“Y’all we did it,” the governor told supporters in Montgomery.
“Tonight, the people of Alabama spoke loud and clear in support of our conservative record of results,” Ivey said to the cheering crowd. “And it’s a record I’m sure proud of.”
Ivey thanked her supporters for what she called a hard-fought victory.
“Let me tell you this. We could not have done this, it would not have happened without each and every single one of you here tonight and all of you watching on TV,” the governor said. “Your thoughts, your prayers, the support and your votes have led us to win the Republican primary tonight outright.”
Votes are still being counted for Ivey and her eight challengers in the GOP primary. But the governor appeared to have a solid hold on the majority of votes needed to win the nomination without a runoff.
With 92.2% of votes counted according to the Associated Press, Ivey had 356,319 votes, or 54.4%.
Former Trump administration ambassador Lindy Blanchard was second with 125,913 votes, or 19.2%. Greenville businessman Tim James was third with 105,976 votes, or 16.2%.
“It’s been a hard-fought campaign,” the governor said. “I appreciate my opponents who wanted to step forward and serve Alabama. And I look forward to working with them to continue to move Alabama forward.”
As the Republican nominee, Ivey will be the overwhelming favorite in the general election in November.
The race for the Democratic nomination is headed for a runoff. With 87.6% of votes counted, according to AP, Yolanda Flowers, a retired rehabilitation specialist from Birmingham, had 56,859 votes, or 33.8%. State Sen. Malika Sanders Fortier of Selma had 54,636 votes, or 32.5%. Three other candidates were 12% and below. Flowers and Fortier meet in a runoff June 21.
Ivey said she will turn her attention to the general election campaign starting Wednesday.
“The Democrats are going to try to do everything they can to take back the power in this state and we cannot let them reverse the progress that we’ve made here in Alabama,” the governor said.
Ivey, 77, had expressed confidence when she voted this morning at the Cleveland Avenue YMCA. A couple of dozen supporters chanted “four more years” when she emerged after voting.
Ivey’s campaign watch party tonight was at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery.
One of her top rivals, James, held his election night event a few blocks away and spoke to supporters shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. James introduced his wife, children, in-laws, and grandchildren. He said he did not know what tonight’s outcome would be but had an upbeat message.
“Who knows what’s gonna happen, right? We don’t know,” James said. “But we’re very optimistic and we’re hopeful. And we sense something’s going on but you never know.”
Regardless of the outcome, James said he is confident it was the right decision to enter the race because he believes it was God’s will.
“He never promises we win or lose most of the time,” James said. “He says you have to obey. So we will see what happens. Either way we win because we obeyed God and you obeyed and you are a part of it and you will be blessed for this. Now don’t get me wrong. Winning beats losing.”
The governor told her supporters there’s still much work to do after tonight’s primary victory. She talked about job creation, recruiting more businesses, and the state’s record low unemployment rate.
“I’m going to fight every day to continue making Alabama the best state in America to live, work, raise a family, and yes, play football,” Ivey said. “We know how it’s done down here in sweet home Alabama and we’re going to keep at it.”
Ivey has been governor since April 2017 when she moved up from lieutenant governor to replace Robert Bentley, who resigned over accusations of using his office to cover up an affair with a staffer. Ivey completed Bentley’s term and was elected to a four-year term in November 2018.
During a re-election campaign Ivey launched in June 2021, the governor has run mostly on her record of the last four years, including the state’s record low unemployment rate, record high education budget, and road projects funded by the 10-cents per gallon gasoline tax increase that she spearheaded three years ago.
The governor has mostly ignored her GOP opponents and has not appeared with them at candidate forums. Ivey made President Joe Biden a main target of her campaign ads.
The Ivey campaign, backed by the state’s main business lobbying groups, has spent more than $9 million. The governor has faced two well funded opponents.
Former Trump administration ambassador Lindy Blanchard, whose campaign is self-funded, has spent more than $10 million. James, making his third run for governor, has spent more than $4 million.
Overall, candidates have spent more than $25 million, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Blanchard’s election night gathering is at The Chapel at the Waters in Pike Road.
Ivey’s opponents have criticized her for the gas tax increase and called for a pause in the tax as fuel prices spiked over $4 a gallon. She has also received criticism for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the low rankings of Alabama schools on national math and reading assessments, and other topics.
Other candidates in the race include Lew Burdette, longtime leader of the King’s Home organization that helps abused women and children, Opelika pastor Dean Odle, Springville Mayor Dave Thomas, Orange Beach businessman Dean Young, former Morgan County Commissioner and correctional officer Stacy Lee George, and yoga advocate Donald Trent Jones.
Four years ago, Ivey won the Republican nomination without a runoff when she received 332,000 votes, or 56%, to defeat Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, evangelist Scott Dawson, and former state Sen. Bill Hightower.
Ivey then defeated Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox by more than 300,000 votes, receiving 59% of the more than 1.7 million votes cast.
Ivey became the second woman elected governor of Alabama. Gov. Lurleen Wallace was elected in 1966 as a stand-in for her husband, George Wallace, because the state Constitution at that time prohibited consecutive terms.
The gas tax increase, which passed in 2019 and was pledged to road construction and improvements to the port of Mobile, was one of Ivey’s top initiatives during this four-year term. Republican leaders in the Legislature backed the plan after working several years to build support.
Also in 2019, Ivey signed what was the nation’s toughest anti-abortion bill, banning the procedure at all stages of pregnancy except to protect a woman from a serious health risk. A federal judge blocked the law before it took effect, but that could change if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.
Last year, Ivey and Republican lawmakers collaborated on a $1.3 billion plan to build two 4,000-bed men’s prisons. Funding for the construction includes $400 million in federal dollars from a COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress, the American Rescue Plan Act. Completion of the prisons is expected in about three years.
Ivey inherited a crisis in the state prison system. The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state over unsafe prison conditions in December 2020, alleging the failure to protect prisoners from inmate-on-inmate violence and sexual abuse, failure to protect them from excessive force by staff, and failure to provide safe conditions of confinement violate constitutional prohibitions on cruel and unusual punishment. As of now, the case is on track for a trial in 2024, according to a scheduling order issued two weeks ago by the judge.
This story was updated at 7:37 a.m. to update the vote totals.
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