BIRMINGHAM — Rallying her supporters in a packed room at Lloyd’s Restaurant in Birmingham, Gov. Kay Ivey kicked off her bid to maintain her residency at the governor’s mansion for an additional four years.
The rally began with opening remarks by long-serving State Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia Hills), who touted the leadership Ivey had demonstrated since assuming the governor’s office in 2017.
“Governor Ivey has been a fantastic governor for Alabama and I’m grateful for her leadership and navigating the ship of state through the various challenges that comes with having that job,” Waggoner told the crowd. “Anyone who has listened to Washington, D.C. or the mainstream media knows the threats that our country faces. Everything from reckless, unconstitutional COVID-19 mandates, calls to defund the police, critical race theory, and the list goes on and on.”
“People are concerned in this state and all over this nation,” added Waggoner. “That is why it is so critically important to have a strong, capable leader like Governor Kay Ivey serving as the head of state.”
Prior to introducing Alabama’s 54th chief executive to event attendees, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth took the podium to deliver a fiery speech lambasting President Joe Biden and hailing Ivey for what he asserted to be her willingness to combat his administration’s progressive policies.
“Governor Ivey loves Alabama. Alabama’s economy is on fire – one of the best economies in the U.S.,” said Ainsworth. “The lowest unemployment in Alabama’s history, she’s created over 44,000 new jobs – the best business climate in all 50 states. Think about this: $19 billion in new business investment in Alabama.”
Ainsworth went on to proclaim, “[President Biden] will go down as the worst president in my lifetime. You better believe states are important. We’ve got to fight back and it’s important that we support a governor that’s going to stand up for our conservative values. She’s done that, she’ll continue to do that. We need her back in office. We need everyone working hard to get her reelected.”
I appreciated all my supporters and friends who made it out for my official campaign kickoff event last night. It was an honor to share with everyone my conservative record and vision for the future of our state #alpolitics. pic.twitter.com/XyAlhMPHpj
— Kay Ivey (@kayiveyforgov) February 11, 2022
In opening her remarks, the governor took aim at her GOP primary opponents by saying that they would make disparaging claims about the present condition of the state.
“Y’all, we’re going to hear a lot of talk with this campaign from politicians making lofty promises. A lot of talk from politicians who want to run down Alabama and talk bad about our state – we’re not going to have it,” Ivey declared. “If they don’t like Alabama, they can head on to New York or California, or even Illinois.”
“I’m proud of my conservative record. We’ve already done what others are only talking about doing,” added Ivey, before touting the economic growth the state had experienced under her administration.
The governor continued, “While others in the country were caving into Washington and flip-flopping Fauci, here in Alabama we did what we needed to do to make sure we stayed open during this awful pandemic and keep our young people in school where they belong.”
“And speaking about the pandemic, let it be crystal clear on one thing: Joe Biden will never tell Alabama what to do,” said a defiant Ivey. “Not ever will he tell us what to do. His mandates are dead in Alabama. We’ve sued him and we’ve won. And folks, I’m standing like a brick wall against Joe Biden and his outrageous, unconstitutional overreach. I’m continuing to fight Washington with every fiber in my being and I say bring it on, Joe!”
The governor slammed Critical Race Theory teachings and the Obama-era federal educational standards of Common Core.
“Here in Alabama, ya’ll we don’t teach hate. Critical race theory is racist and its hateful. And here in Alabama, it’s dead as a door nail,” said Ivey. “We banned it and it’s not coming back. Common Core is a bunch of no good nonsense, that’s why we don’t teach it here in Alabama. We teach the basics and we’re focused on preparing our children for the real world.”
She added, “Speaking of the basics, we all know that gender is straightforward. It’s about biology, not feelings. That’s why I banned transgender sports in our schools. Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth said ‘here in Alabama, boys play boys’ sports, girls play girls’ sports.’ It’s just Alabama commonsense.”
The governor went on to say that she signed the “strongest pro-life bill in the country” and pledged to continue protecting “every single unborn life.” She then turned her attention to the issue of election integrity.
“Right here in our sweet home Alabama, our elections are safe and secure. Look at Joe Biden – we all know something was up in other states in 2020. But here in Alabama, we got it right,” said Ivey, before touting legislation that she had signed to “make sure no election is stolen here.”
Ivey concluded in part, “Y’all, if you pay too much attention to Washington, D.C. you’ll go insane. And sometimes it really seems like really the world’s gone crazy. But not here in Alabama – we’re in great shape. And we’re using Alabama commonsense to lead us to even better days.”
Watch:
The primary election will take place on May 24, 2022.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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