State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) has been campaigning for governor for months, but he has never formally declared that he is running for the office. On Tuesday, Zeigler said that he may wait until the last day of Republican qualifying to make his decision,
GOP qualifying begins on Tuesday and the deadline to run in the 2022 Alabama primaries is Jan. 28 at 5:00 p.m.
If Zeigler runs, he will be going up against popular incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey (R).
State Auditor Jim Zeigler is term-limited from seeking re-election to that office.
Zeigler has filed a finance committee report with the Secretary of State raising money to run for governor against Ivey, but to this point, he has not announced a decision.
Zeigler said that his “exploratory committee” is trying to raise enough money to get his message out. That task will be made harder because a “blackout” on fundraising starts at midnight on Jan. 11 when the legislature goes into regular session.
“Gov. Ivey has raised over $3 million in special interest money to try to buy another re-election,” Zeigler said in a statement. “I am dependent on hundreds of working taxpayers making small donations.”
“What we have is Zeigler and the taxpayers vs. Ivey and the insiders,” Zeigler claimed.
Zeigler said that he might be more likely to win a lower office, such as State Treasurer, Secretary of State, or Public Service Commission.
“I could do more good for the taxpayers as Governor,” Zeigler stated. “I will just qualify in alphabetical order.”
Zeigler has been a critic of a number of Ivey’s policies including
* the gas tax increase which passed the legislature anyway,
* the plan to abolish the state school board, which voters rejected,
* the plan to let a private consortium build a massive new toll bridge over I-10, which failed to get local government support,
* the plan to do a lease/build agreement with private consortiums on three new mega prisons – that failed when the companies that were going to own the three new prisons could not find bank financing for their part of the deal.
If Zeigler does run for Governor, he faces a crowded field that at this point includes:
King’s Home President Lews Burdette,
Former ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard,
Greenville businessman Tim James,
Former Morgan County Commissioner Stacey George,
Lee County pastor and schoolmaster Dean Odle,
Incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey.
Enterprise businessman Chad “Chig” Martin, Dothan area LGBTQ activist Chris Countryman, and Yolanda Rochelle Flowers have all already announced that they are running for the Democratic nomination for governor.
The major party primaries will be on May 24, 2022.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
