WTVM Editorial 6/9/21: Ivey Runs Again at 76

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - When Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently announced she’ll run for re-election at age 76, she couldn’t help but make history...again.

Kay Ivey’s story is interesting both because of what she’s done and for some things she hasn’t done. Ivey is the first recent governor not to resign or go to prison over ethics or criminal charges like three of the prior six Alabama Governors.

And you might think Kay Ivey was the first woman Governor of Alabama. But no - that distinction went to Lurlene Wallace, who won the governorship as a placeholder for her racist, segregationist husband George Wallace, so he could make his ill-fated run for the White House in 1968.

Kay Ivey is the first governor to win re-election in her own right after assuming the office, after Robert Bentley resigned over a sex scandal with a political aide. At 76, Governor Ivey is the oldest serving governor in the United States.

If successful in her re-election bid in 2022, she’ll be 81 at the end of that four year term. Of course, politicians still working in their mid-to-late 70′s is not that unusual anymore. President Joe Biden is 78 years old right now - Former President Donald Trump is 74.

Governor Ivey has proved she’s a fighter in her golden years: she battled and defeated stage 1 lung cancer in 2019. She’s also taken on plenty of political fights...most recently signing into law a bill banning trans girls from competing in girls sports through 12th grade. Another controversy for Governor Ivey was her support for Alabama school administrators who want to have guns at schools. She agreed they’re allowed to use lethal force if necessary, to defend students, faculty, and staff against an armed intruder.

Governor Ivey even faced her own blackface scandal a couple of years ago - and apologized for taking part in a college skit 52 years ago.

So far, Governor Ivey has only one announced Republican opponent, Opelika Pastor Dean Odle. Odle calls himself a traditional Republican, who is Pro-Life, pro Second Amendment, anti-masks, and anti-vaccines.

WTVM will make sure to cover all the candidates for Alabama Governor. Kay Ivey’s re-election bid will be just one of many fascinating match-ups to watch in the hotly contested elections coming soon in 2022.