Talk Elections

"I think there are going to be eight or nine of us who are going to be getting in the governor's race. And I think the eight or nine of us will be making announcements between January and March," he told reporters.

As for himself, he said, "I am going to save the formal announcement until early February."

Davis said he will follow the announcement with a tour of the state.

Republican Gov. Bob Riley has served two terms and can't run again in 2010. No Democrat has formally announced a candidacy, but Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, and House Speaker Seth Hammett have said they are considering it.

Before Davis makes an announcement in February, he's got another big event coming up. On Jan. 1, he will marry Tara Johnson of Montgomery. Davis, 41, said their wedding will be at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Montgomery.

Davis grew up in Montgomery, but the city is not in his 7th Congressional District, which stretches from Birmingham to Selma. Davis held his news conference in the Capitol's Old House Chamber, where the governor often holds official functions, including his annual "State of the State" address to the Legislature.

Davis was joined by officials from west Alabama. They encouraged Congress to pass an economic stimulus package in January that includes an extension of the tax breaks for businesses in the Renewal Community and Empowerment Zone legislation.

The tax breaks, which help businesses that locate in low-income areas, are due to expire at the end of 2009. Davis said they need to be extended quickly because businesses make decisions about new plants or expansions a year in advance.

Jim Hodo, chief operating officer of American Apparel Inc. in Selma, said the clothing company employs about 700 people in poor areas of west Alabama, and the tax breaks were "the tie breaker" in deciding where to locate plants.

Davis also responded to reporters' questions about other issues, including cutbacks in the state education and General Fund budgets that the governor made Monday due to declining state tax revenue.

Davis tied his answer to the $1.2 billion tax plan that Riley proposed unsuccessfully in 2003, when Alabama was in another economic downturn.

"Governor Riley correctly told us in 2003 that we have long-term problems financing the state of Alabama and meeting our obligations. We had several good years of growth, so we kind of forgot about those problems. But now the growth has gone away. Unemployment is high. We are in recession in Alabama and around the country. And guess what? The things he warned about in 2003 are coming home to roost," Davis said.

Davis said the state's economic conditions will force candidates for governor to do more than make promises.

"Everybody who runs for governor in 2009 and 2010 is going to have to talk about how we are going to pay for our programs," he said.

Davis indicated that for him, that discussion will begin in early February.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Treasurer Kay Ivey has hired a pollster and lined up office space in anticipation of running for governor of Alabama in 2010, but she said Thursday she wants to talk to more voters before making a decision.

Using her new office space in downtown Montgomery, Ivey released the results of a survey by Washington pollster Kellyanne Conway, who appears regularly on Fox News, that found voters view her favorably.

Ivey said she plans to send the poll results to Republican Party activists throughout the state and get their views before deciding about 2010.


"I need to do some listening to folks after they get a copy of this," she said.
But her pollster made it sound like the decision had already been made. In a video recording accompanying the poll, Conway said her firm limits its candidates to a small group. "That's why we are excited to be working with Kay Ivey as she runs for governor in 2010," Conway said.

So far, Greenville businessman Tim James, the son of two-time Gov. Fob James, is the only official Republican candidate for governor.

"Kay will certainly be a formidable opponent. She has been elected to statewide office," James said in an interview Thursday.

He said he got in the race early and spent much of 2008 building a grassroots campaign because he was not a statewide officeholder. He said the organization is going well, but he expects lots of competition because Republican incumbent Bob Riley can't run again.

Others who have said they've been encouraged to consider the Republican race for governor include Attorney General Troy King, Secretary of State Beth Chapman, state Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard, former lieutenant governor nominee Luther Strange, two-year college Chancellor Bradley Byrne, and Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins.

Ivey, 64, is serving her second term as treasurer and is prohibited by state law from running again.

She has been taking gradual steps to build her profile and possibly a 2010 campaign, including serving as the state leader for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, loaning $1 million of her own money to her campaign account, throwing a Republican National Convention viewing party in Montgomery, and being invited to the Republican Governors Association's meeting in November as an "emerging leader."

Ivey said she has been receiving good feedback from voters since she first mentioned the possibility of running for governor last year.

"It was encouraging enough for me to pay the money to engage a first-class pollster," she said.

The results of the poll, which surveyed 503 people who voted in the November election, shows Ivey with no "red flags." About two-thirds of people polled said it made no difference that Ivey was single, had no children and would be 66 at the time of the election.

There are other stumbling blocks Rep. Davis would find along the way. A Davis candidacy in the 2010 Democratic Primary would likely turn divisive for state democrats, pitting white against black and something the state party could not afford to happen. Some white democratic leaders, citing the small white vote for Obama in the state, have already told Davis they could not support his candidacy in the primary and have strongly urged him to stay in Congress where they believe he could do the state and the party more good. They believe a Davis primary victory would virtually return the governorship to the hands of whoever the GOP nominates and be a disaster for other democratic candidates, at both the state and local levels.

There are plenty of potential Republican candidates out there wishing for a chance to get that shot at Davis. They include, among others, State Treasurer Kay Ivey, two-year college Chancellor, Bradley Byrne, State Party Chair Mike Hubbard, Attorney General Troy King, Congressman Jo Bonner, Birmingham lawyer Luther Strange who many believe has a more serious eye on being attorney general, and Tim James, the son of former Gov. Fob James.

MONTGOMERY - The 2010 Alabama governor's race is wide open, and a lineup of the state's top politicians is considering entering the field.

Alabama will have its first open gubernatorial seat in more than two decades because Gov. Bob Riley cannot run for re-election, and that sets up a political scramble to be the next man or woman to occupy the Governor's Mansion.

"We're going to have some exciting primaries," said Bill Stewart, a political scientist with the University of Alabama.


The hopefuls are expected to kick off their campaigns with a flurry of announcements in early 2009.

Democrats:

On the Democratic side, Rep. Artur Davis, Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks and Speaker of the House Seth Hammett are considering runs.

Three-term congressman Davis, D-Birmingham, has all but announced his intention to run. There is strong indication from the Davis camp that he may open his campaign in early February.

"I have made no secret of the fact that I am considering a run for governor in 2010," Davis said. "As I've also said, I have goals and dreams for Alabama that I think could be accomplished better in Montgomery than in Washington, D.C."

Folsom, who was governor for two years, told The Associated Press he will decide early in 2009 whether to run again for governor.

Folsom, son of legendary Alabama Gov. James E. Folsom Sr., stayed out of politics after losing the 1994 race for governor. But he said he is getting lots of encouragement to enter the 2010 race.

Sparks has set up a campaign Web site, but it doesn't say what office he will seek.

"I will run in 2010, perhaps for governor, perhaps for lieutenant governor. I've made no decision," Sparks said.

"The people of Alabama have honored me by electing me twice. I have a deep love for Alabama and want to continue to serve her," Sparks said.


Hammett also is thought to considering a run, but has declined interviews until he decides.

"It's a dilemma for the Democratic party," Stewart said.

"Davis is obviously talented. He would have good entry with the Obama administration," Stewart said. Davis attended Harvard University with the future president and was chairman of his presidential campaign in Alabama.

But there also are questions, Stewart said, about whether a black Democrat can win the top office in a state once famous for its racial strife.

Davis has rebutted speculation that President-elect Barack Obama's poor showing in Alabama is a bad omen for his candidacy. Davis has said Obama didn't have a meaningful campaign in Alabama and that previous Democratic presidential losses in the state have been followed by Democratic victories in the state's general elections two years later.

Republicans:

The field of potential contenders is wider on the Republican side.

"There is no clear favorite," Stewart said.

Businessman Tim James, son of former Gov. Fob James, has announced that he plans to run and launched a campaign Web site.

Also considering runs are Alabama Treasurer Kay Ivey, two-year college Chancellor Bradley Byrne, Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard, Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. and Attorney General Troy King.


Another name frequently mentioned as a possible heir to Riley is Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile.

Bonner said he is not drawing up campaign plans just yet, but he is weighing his options.

"I have been very humbled and very surprised at the amount of interest from one range encouraging me to keep an open mind to another range encouraging me to jump right in," Bonner said.

"Really, more than anything else I've just been trying to weigh the opportunity to continue what I'm doing in Washington versus the opportunity to perhaps have another option down the road," Bonner said.

Ivey has lent $1 million to her campaign as she considers a run. She said she plans to spend early 2009 talking to voters about what they want in their next governor.

"This is not about the individual. This is about the people of Alabama, in my view. This is about the people's criteria, about the quality of leadership they want," Ivey said.

Byrne, a former member of the Alabama Senate, said he has not made a final decision, but expects to do so by the middle of next year.

Byrne said is aware he is likely to come under criticism for remaining chancellor while mulling a run for governor.

"Those who oppose those reforms we are trying to bring to the two-year college system will say almost anything and do anything to prevent those reforms from occurring," Byrne said.

Luther Strange said he has given serious thought to the state's top office, but he's also considered a run for attorney general or lieutenant governor.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard, also a member of Alabama House of Representatives, also is considering a run.

"I'm thinking about it, but I'm also thinking about maybe a run for lieutenant governor or maybe just trying to keep my House seat and trying to win Republican control of the House," Hubbard said.