2022 Alabama gubernatorial election

• Lynda Blanchard, former United States Ambassador to Slovenia (2019–2021) and former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022[1][2][3]
• Lew Burdette, president of women and youth shelter King's Home in Chelsea[4]
• Stacy Lee George, corrections officer, former Morgan County commissioner, and candidate for governor in 2014 and 2018[5]
• Kay Ivey, incumbent Governor of Alabama[6]
• Tim James, businessman, son of former Governor Fob James, and candidate for governor in 2002 and 2010[7]
• Donald Trent Jones, yoga instructor[8][9]
• Dean Odle, pastor, author, founder and dean of ministry school[10]
• Dave Thomas, mayor of Springville (2020–present) and former state representative (1994–2002)[11][12]
• Dean Young, businessman and perennial candidate[13]

• Will Ainsworth, incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (seeking re-election)[15]
• Mo Brooks, U.S. Representative (running for U.S. Senate)[16]
• Steve Marshall, incumbent Attorney General of Alabama (seeking re-election)[17]
• Rick Pate, incumbent commissioner of Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (seeking re-election)[17]
• Jim Zeigler, incumbent Alabama State Auditor (2015–present) (formed exploratory committee but did not run; running for Secretary of State)[18][19][20][21]

The first Republican debate forum was held on January 19, 2022, in Ozark. It was hosted by the Coffee County Republican Women organization at the Enterprise Country Club. The debate featured candidates Lynda Blanchard, Tim James, and Dean Odle. Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey was not present, and candidate Lew Burdette phoned in due to being in isolation with COVID-19. Odle detailed his opinion of the governor's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, while James talked about a culture war on Alabamians and Blanchard signaled her broad agreement with the other candidates. Each candidate was against opening a statewide lottery but were open to let the voters decide the issue.[49]

A second candidate forum was held at the monthly Republican Women of Huntsville luncheon on February 1, 2022 at The Ledges Country Club in Huntsville. Blanchard, Burdette, James, and Odle were in attendance.[50]

The third major forum for Republican gubernatorial candidates was held on February 10, 2022, in Fairhope. It was hosted by the Eastern Shore Republican Women organization at the Fairhope Yacht Club, and was moderated by radio show host Jeff Poor.[51] All candidates except for incumbent Governor Kay Ivey, who was holding her own campaign event, and Stacy Lee George, who had a scheduling conflict, were in attendance.[52] The candidates were universal in their opposition towards a recent fuel tax increase, in particular criticizing possible future increases. According to AL.com, Young was nearly removed from the forum after he entered into an argument with a representative of the hosts, concerning a challenge he had submitted regarding Ivey's appearance on the ballot. Young later accused the Eastern Shore Republican Women of not wanting him to "talk bad" about Ivey. The candidates also expressed opposition towards gambling in the state, though Blanchard and Thomas stated that the decision should be left in the hands of voters. Regarding education, James pushed for pay bonuses for principals tied to school performance, while Jones advocated for yoga instruction in schools.[52]

Also on February 10, 2022, the Houston County Republican Party group held a GOP candidates forum at the Wiregrass Rehab Center in Dothan. The forum featured Blanchard, James and Odle giving stump speeches, along with candidates for U.S. Senate, AL-02, and the Alabama Supreme Court, among other state and local offices.[53]

The Butler County Republican Party organization held a GOP candidates forum on February 28, 2022 at the Wendell Mitchell Conference Center on the campus of Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Greenville. The forum was attended by candidates Blanchard, Burdette, James, and Odle. It also hosted candidates for U.S. Senate, Secretary of State, and the Alabama Supreme Court.[54]

The Athens-Limestone Republican Women Organization held a gubernatorial debate forum at the Valley Event Center on U.S. Highway 72 in Athens on March 7, 2022. Only Blanchard, James and Odle participated; Ivey and the rest of the candidates were absent.[55][56] James emphasized education reform and criticized gas taxes in the state, while Blanchard targeted illegal immigration and benefits given to non-citizens. Odle centered on COVID-19 related issues, and praised Florida governor Ron DeSantis as a model for governing by rejecting President Joe Biden's decisions.[57]

1819 News, Eagle Forum of Alabama, Thatcher Coalition, and LOCAL Alabama held a joint gubernatorial debate forum featuring Republican candidates Blanchard, Burdette, James, Odle, and Thomas as well as the entire Democratic primary field at the Hoover Library Theatre on March 10, 2022.[58][59] All candidates were invited, though only those eleven participated.[60]

The forum was structured into four segments: one for opening remarks, the second for answering policy questions, followed by a lightning round by writing "yes" or "no" on a small whiteboard, and the last being closing statements. Lindy Blanchard opined about her service to Donald Trump as United States Ambassador to Slovenia as the driver behind her run for governor, while Lew Burdette described Alabama as "the bottom of the list" in almost every quality of life category and the need to limit campaign financing as possible policy solutions. Dean Odle berated Kay Ivey's handling of COVID-19, but also stated the intentions of Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum would have an affect on the state level and as a result there was a dire need for electing new leadership. Tim James spoke fondly of Eagle Forum's ardent opposition of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1975 as a reflection of the current state of affairs. Dave Thomas outlined the "professional politicians" and "self-proclaimed elite" once again running for Governor as the catalyst for his entrance into the race.

When moderator Allison Sinclair posed the question "If you could choose one song that was the theme song for your life, what would it be?", the candidates had a variety of answers. Lindy Blanchard's answer was "It Is Well With My Soul", and Lew Burdette's was "Amazing Grace". Tim James answered the opening theme from Patton, and Dave Thomas cited the title song from "I'm Not the Devil" by Cody Jinks. Dean Odle's answer was "Crushing Snakes" by Crowder.

The Cullman County Republican Women hosted a gubernatorial candidate forum at VFW post 2214 in Cullman on April 12, 2022. The Cullman Times noted that while all the candidates agreed on most policy, the candidates each detailed solutions to different issues. Tim James decried the Alabama Legislature for not passing tax cuts after having a surplus of $1.5 billion, and Lindy Blanchard showed up in a Maga hat to show that she was more loyal to Donald Trump than anyone else there. Dave Thomas cited his expereince as mayor of Springville and previous campaign battles as giving him a leg up on the competition, and Lew Burdette called for an overhaul of campaign finance laws. In addition to citing Governor Kay Ivey's COVID-19 lockdown of Alabama that violated the United States Constitution, Dean Odle's plan for drafting school choice legislation was described as "perhaps the most autonomous state education policy proposal for Alabama communities".[61]

Grassroots conservative group Focus on America will hosted a Republican gubernatorial debate on April 26, 2022, at the Roto Rooter Event Center on Paramount Drive in Huntsville. Six of the candidates showed up; Ivey, George and Young again remained absent.[62][63]

According to 1819 News,

The closest thing to a heated disagreement during the debate came when Dean Odle accused Burdette of “basically giving my speech points” from one of Odle’s first television campaign commercials that described how Florida had seen the national ranking of Sunshine State K-12 schools rapidly rise from 29th to third after they eliminated the Common Core program there. Odle said he overheard Burdette “doing what a politician does” by using the points made by Odle in his commercial while talking to a member of the media inside of the Event Center prior to the debate." Burdette fired back by telling the audience, “I don’t follow Dean Odle, so if he has a commercial that I haven’t seen, I’m sorry that I haven’t seen your commercial. I don’t know if anybody else here has seen his commercial, nor do I follow your campaign particularly closely. We’ve been in a lot of these gubernatorial forums, these are all things that we’ve shared at each one of them, and I don’t even remember, Dean, you sharing that statistic.”

With one exception, all the candidates vying for victory in the May 24th Republican Primary checked most of the boxes on issues that concern Alabama conservative voters. The only exception was Montevallo’s Donald Trent Jones who wore John Lennon-style, amber-tinted eyeglasses, a beauty contest style white sash with the Alabama state flag and the word GOVERNOR printed across it, and a black jacket covered with colorful 1960s symbols, such as butterflies, stars, hearts, peace symbols, guitars, and other symbols of the hippie era. Jones introduced himself by proclaiming, “I am your Yoga Governor.” Other than suggesting that Alabama could help stop election day fraud by dipping the fingers of voters in indelible ink so that they couldn’t vote more than once, Jones managed to work his yoga philosophy into almost every one of his question responses and statements. When asked if that was his motivation for running for governor, Jones admitted that his candidacy was only a ploy to promote his not-for-profit yoga enterprise.[64]

Graphical summary

• Yolanda Rochelle Flowers, activist, retired rehabilitation specialist and educator[65][66][67]
• Arthur Kennedy, Army veteran and educator[9][68]
• Chad "Chig" Martin, small business owner, musician and independent candidate for governor in 2018[69] (switched from independent)[70][71]
• Patricia Salter Jamieson, nurse and licensed minister[65]
• Malika Sanders-Fortier, attorney and state senator from the 23rd district (2018–present)[72]
• Doug "New Blue" Smith, developmental economist, retired corporate attorney and perennial candidate[8][9][73]

• Christopher A. Countryman, equality activist, licensed minister, motivational speaker, former juvenile corrections officer and candidate for governor in 2018[76]

• Walt Maddox, mayor of Tuscaloosa and nominee for governor in 2018[77]

All six of the Democratic candidates for governor were present at the LOCAL Alabama gubernatorial candidate forum on March 10, 2022, at the Hoover Library Theatre in Hoover, facing off against 5 of the Republican candidates.[58] [59]

The forum was structured into four segments: one for opening remarks, the second for answering policy questions, followed by a lightning round by writing "yes" or "no" on a small whiteboard, and the last being closing statements. Speaking before a bipartisan audience, Arthur Kennedy cited his service in the United States Army as a calling to run for governor. Chad Martin called for the government to be more proactive in alleviating burdens of Alabama citizens, including those in the education sector. Patricia Salter Jamieson outlined the need for unity between Alabamians of all backgrounds. Malika Sanders-Fortier cited the need for more citizens to be involved in the political process. Yolanda Flowers offered her vision for the state as a "different aspect" than the current leadership. Doug Smith kicked things off by brandishing several large print graphs of the seven economic engines that he believed, if reimplemented, would propel the Alabama economy while going well over his allotted answer time.

When moderator Allison Sinclair posed the question "If you could choose one song that was the theme song for your life, what would it be?", the candidates had a variety of answers. Smith's immediate response was "Precious Lord, Take My Hand", while Flowers said hers would be "The Sound of Music". Kennedy's theme song was "I Can Win", while Jamieson cited "Amazing Grace" and Martin said "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Malika Sanders-Fortier decided that her song was "Be Still" by Hillsong Worship.

A Democratic candidate forum, featuring office-seekers from gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and AL-04 races in Alabama, was held in Fort Payne on April 7, 2022.[80] This event was more of a meet-and-greet rather than a traditional candidate forum.[81]

The Houston County Democratic Party hosted a Democratic candidate forum for gubernatorial, AL-02 and other races in Dothan at the Clarion Inn at meetings on April 21st and 22nd of 2022. Yolanda Flowers addressed the group on Thursday evening while the other five candidates spoke the following day.[82]