Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to make several stops in Alabama

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September 21, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former Arkansas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will tour Alabama on Thursday, October 1st, making several stops in the Yellowhammer State

According to Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, whose office released information on the visits Monday afternoon, Huckabee will begin his tour with a public event in Florence at 8 a.m., stopping for two private fundraisers in Sylacauga and Selma and ending with a public appearance at 6 p.m. in Dothan.

Secretary Merrill and many others are crediting so-called “SEC Primary” for the relatively high number of presidential candidates who have made stops in Alabama over the last several months.

In most presidential election years through the 2004 cycle, Alabama held its presidential primaries in June, often long after voters in other states had essentially decided the outcome of the races. So lawmakers passed a bill that moved Alabama’s presidential primaries up to the first Tuesday in February.

But in an effort to condense the primary campaign calendar, both national party committees passed a rule cutting in half the number of delegates a state could send to the party convention if they held their primary before the first Tuesday in March.

In 2015 Alabama officially moved its primary date to March 1st, coinciding with The Yellowhammer State will join Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and thus the SEC Primary was born.

“As Secretary of State, I will continue to position Alabama and the South as a place where Presidential candidates are willing to make an effort to visit and meet our outstanding citizens,” said Merrill. “When this many Presidential candidates are choosing to visit Alabama, it is proof the SEC Primary is working. The SEC Primary greatly increases the importance of southeastern states to candidates, and I am proud to see our state receiving the attention it deserves. It is so important that Alabamians have the opportunity to interact with all candidates in order to learn who best reflects their views.”

Merrill’s office said Democratic candidates have been contacted for possible campaign stops in Alabama, no visits have been set.

More details about Gov. Huckabee’s tour will be announced in the coming days.