As voters head to the polls Tuesday, all eyes are on the heated three-way race for the U.S. Senate. However, the gubernatorial race in its closing days caught the attention of many Alabama political observers due to the prospects of Gov. Kay Ivey being forced to contend in a runoff election.
As recent polling indicates that Ivey could earn below a plurality of all votes cast, businessman Tim James and former U.S. ambassador Lindy Blanchard both stand a very reasonable shot at making a potential runoff.
The race for second place appears to be in a dead heat between the two insurgent candidates vying to unseat the incumbent governor.
In the final days of the election, Blanchard received the backing of My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell. Tuesday’s election results will show if the controversial endorsement swayed some of the most ardent supporters of former President Donald Trump to her campaign.
Yellowhammer News recently held an exclusive interview with Blanchard and Lindell, who offered their assessment of the race and made their closing pitch to Alabama’s Republican electorate.
“Alright, so we live in the fourth-most corrupt state, and a lot of this is pay-to-play,” declared Blanchard. “So when you’ve been in politics or that arena so long, then you want to stay in that arena no matter what it takes… We need candidates that are willing to step out of the box, use their voice because there are a lot of people that are afraid because they’re in the game pay-to-play. ‘Pad my pocket, I’ll do this.'”
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She continued, “But if you’re a candidate like me that’s not taking dark money that we know some of the candidates in this race have taken, if you’re not taking PAC money, you’re not taking big business money that you have to pay back, or you’re not taking gambling money. Gambling in this state is a big influence when it comes to the money and padding people’s pockets.”
The gubernatorial hopeful then weighed in on the issue of transparency and asserted that the next governor should place an even stronger emphasis on ensuring secure elections.
“So, I like to do everything with transparency. I’m a mathematician — not a politician,” proclaimed Blanchard. “I’m black and white on everything. And I just want to get the word out that we as Alabamians need to be joining together to no matter what ensure our elections are fair…”
When presented with the idea that he was a polarizing figure to some, Lindell quipped that “they all love” him and rather it was “the media” that despise the Trump loyalist.
The conservative entrepreneur repeated his assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, and for that reason, he insisted, election integrity was the “number one” issue in Alabama’s gubernatorial race and was the motivating factor in offering his endorsement of the first-time candidate.
According to Blanchard, holding the support of Lindell is advantageous in conservative Alabama.
“I think it moves [the needle] significantly,” Blanchard said of Lindell’s endorsement, “because this race is tight and we need to choose a governor that has not been bought and paid for like these other two candidates.”
Headed into Election Day, Blanchard told Yellowhammer News that she was feeling confident and said that the momentum was with her campaign.
“Out on the trail, we can see the momentum,” she advised. “We can feel the fire. People want change. People want to move this state forward. You know, it’s a tragedy we’re on the bottom of the list in education, we’re the bottom of the list providing internet service and broadband width, we’re at the bottom of the list on taxing. So we’re a very taxed state. We need to put that money back into the people of Alabama.”
Blanchard concluded by saying that the “hardworking people of Alabama need help, and I’m that partner, and they want change.”
Lindell opined on the litany of issues Blanchard raised and stated his belief that too few officeholders across the nation had implemented policies that enhance the quality of life for the citizenry.
“All the stuff you just listed — that’s shameful, I’m sorry… We need people that are elected that have the people’s back. I tell you what, I wasn’t a politician. I’m an ex-crack addict,” he said, going on to lament what he saw as the lack of elected officials who serve the needs of the constituency.
He concluded, “Now you see how important politics are. They control everything. That’s why elections are the most important things we have because everything comes from that.”
In the event that no candidate garners more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held June 21, 2022.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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