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Alabama primary voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to elect nominees for Senate and governor. On the Republican side in each field, it’s unlikely any candidate will surpass the threshold of 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff, even though candidates and outside groups have spent millions over the airwaves.
In the gubernatorial race, incumbent Republican Gov. Kay Ivey faces two major challengers for her job — former U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia Linda “Lindy” Blanchard and businessman Tim James.
The three candidates are leading a field of eight, and they’ve dumped millions on the airwaves to support their campaigns. Ivey has spent $5.9 million, James $3.4 million and Blanchard $7.4 million, according to AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm.
In his ads, James has attacked Ivey over her record in office, accusing her of raising the gas tax. He also made waves nationally when he came out with a series of ads attacking the Magic City Acceptance Academy, an LGBTQ-affirming school in Alabama.
Ivey, meanwhile, has defended her record, attacked Joe Biden and positioned herself as a conservative on issues like abortion and critical race theory.
Blanchard has spent some of her time on the airwaves trying to tie herself to Trump, who has not endorsed in this race.
Trump also no longer has a horse in the race in the Senate GOP primary to fill retiring Sen. Richard C. Shelby’s seat. The former president rescinded his endorsement of Rep. Mo Brooks in March, but failed to endorse anyone else after that.
Just like the governor’s race, candidates have dumped millions on the airwaves. Durant has spent more than $3 million on ads and Britt has spent over $2.9 million. But, they are joined by even bigger ad spending by outside groups.
Club for Growth Action, a super PAC that endorsed Brooks, has spent over $4.4 million on ads. Alabama’s Future, a pro-Britt group, has spent over $3.6 million on ads in her favor. And Alabama Patriots PAC, a pro-Durant group, has also spent over $3.4 million on ads supporting him.