Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey appears closer to announcing an upcoming run for governor after filing paperwork to create a campaign organization.
Earlier this week, Ivey filed paperwork with Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill's office to reserve the name "Kay Ivey for Governor Inc." for a nonprofit organization. Ivey spokesman Daniel Sparkman says Ivey is seriously considering running in 2018 and is "taking the steps necessary to be successful."
Ivey had been the lieutenant governor. She became Alabama’s governor in April following the sudden resignation of Robert Bentley. Ivey has previously declined to say whether she would seek the office in next year’s elections, saying her first job was to "steady the ship of state."
Meanwhile, Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh has announced that she is not running for governor. Cavanaugh plans to run for lieutenant governor instead.
Cavanaugh had been mulling a bid for governor in 2018. She even filed paperwork to create a gubernatorial campaign committee. But she announced yesterday that she will not be running. Cavanaugh says she could better serve the state by not challenging Gov. Kay Ivey and focusing on the lieutenant governor's post.
Cavanaugh joins a crowded Republican field running for lieutenant governor. State. Rep. Will Ainsworth, state Sen. Rusty Glover and state school board member Mary Scott Hunter are among the Republicans seeking the post. The lieutenant governor presides over the Alabama Senate.