Alabama: Dems Get Candidate

​While new Gov. Kay Ivey (R) is now saying she won’t decide until the fall about whether to become a candidate next year, several Republicans and at least one key Democrat are coming forward to declare their own candidacies.  Democrats are excited that former state Supreme Court Justice Sue Bell Cobb (D) yesterday announced she will enter the 2018 Governor’s race.
 
Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, State Public Service Commission president Twinkle Cavanaugh, Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington, and private sector executive Josh Jones are all in the Republican primary.  The more Republicans who enter the race increases the chances that Gov. Ivey, assuming she runs, could be forced into a run-off election. Southern incumbents never fare well if they are forced to a secondary nomination vote.  Waiting too long to get into the race could prove a detriment to Gov. Ivey’s chances of prevailing in November of 2018, or the delay could be a signal that she isn’t planning to run.