Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey wins Republican gubernatorial primary
Alabama is holding primaries for governor on Tuesday. Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time.
The races and the stakes:
Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama won the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, besting two high-profile challengers.
Ivey, who first took office in 2017 and was elected to a full term in 2018, is seeking a second term in office this fall.
Ivey is a staunch conservative who, among other things, has signed a strict abortion ban and the nation's strictest ban on gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender youth. So far this cycle, she's run campaign ads featuring her gun collection, fearmongering over immigration, and falsely declaring that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
But she faced two major primary challengers from even more right-wing candidates. Businessman Tim James and Lynda "Lindy" Blanchard, a major Republican donor who served as US Ambassador to Slovenia under Trump, hammered Ivey from the right.
Blanchard's campaign ads, for example, slammed Ivey for signing a gas tax increase and blaming unvaccinated people for the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling her a "tax-hiking, Fauci-loving, never-Trump liberal," and saying she "shut down the churches but kept the abortion clinics open."
Trump reportedly offered to endorse Blanchard over Ivey if Blanchard dropped out of Alabama's 2022 Senate race. But Trump didn't end up backing her, despite his reported frustration with Ivey over a canceled rally he was set to hold in Alabama in the summer of 2021.
The latest poll of the race conducted by Cygnal for the Alabama Daily News and Gray TV, showed Ivey leading her opponents with 48% support among likely Republican primary voters, James at 16%, and Blanchard at 13%, with 11% undecided.
Alabama also held a high-stakes Republican primary for US Senate to replace retiring GOP Sen. Richard Shelby. Rep. Mo Brooks and former Senate chief of staff Katie Britt will advance to a June 21 runoff since no one candidate earned over 50% of the vote on Tuesday.