Birmingham, AL – Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. says he will make a decision early in the new year about whether to run again for governor, an office he held for two years and his father for eight.
The 59-year-old Folsom stayed out of politics for 12 years after losing the 1994 race for governor. But he says he is enjoying his return and is getting lots of encouragement to enter the 2010 race to replace Republican Gov. Bob Riley.
In an interview last week with The Associated Press, Folsom says by January or February, he will try to make a decision.
Two other prominent Democrats, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Birmingham and state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, are also considering the race. Folsom calls Davis and Sparks friends and says they talk regularly, but they have not discussed the 2010 contest.
One sign of Folsom's interest is the creation of a political action committee named after the farm-to-market road program that his father, two-term Gov. James E. ``Big Jim'' Folsom, used to pave rural roads.
The new Farm to Market PAC was organized by Montgomery attorney Peck Fox, a longtime Folsom adviser. It raised nearly $40,000 before the election Nov. 4 and had another fundraising reception in Birmingham on Nov. 19 attended by Folsom.
Fox says the PAC will support candidates who share a vision for the future with Folsom.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)