By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – State Treasurer Kay Ivey has added a new dimension to the Republican race for lieutenant governor.
State Sen. Hank Erwin of Montevallo and high school teacher Gene Ponder of Daphne were having a low-key, inexpensive contest for the GOP nomination until Ivey decided to run for lieutenant governor.
She previously had eyed the governor's office, but with her switch, the race for lieutenant governor is now one where name recognition and money matter. Ivey, a two-term state treasurer, has both.
Ponder has appealed to tea party activists and constitutional conservatives. Irwin has eight years of experience in the Senate and is campaigning on a call to clean up government.
The winner of the June 1 primary faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., who is unopposed.