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The word heard here is that Bradley Byrne, the Chancellor of the 2-year college system, will announce his candidacy May 27. George Talbot in the Press-Register says today:
Look for Bradley Byrne to launch his gubernatorial campaign in two weeks with a statewide fly-around. Byrne, a Republican from Montrose, is head of the state’s two-year college system and is widely viewed as a leading contender for the GOP’s nomination in 2010.
Kathy at Birmingham Blues heard Byrne speak to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce yesterday and gives this report.
Still plenty of time for a surprise entry, but the Republican field for Governor is shaping up…
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Any truth to the rumor that Bradley’s old pal (and the man BB gave $500 to back in ‘92) Bill Clinton will be joining Bradley for his announcement?
this is essentially a two man race – Bryne vs. James. We will see what happens.
#2 – it sure looks like how things are shaping up. It mirrors the current struggle in the national party between centrist “go along and get along” types (Byrne) and hard-right conservatives (James).
The only problem with hard right conservatives like James is that they seem to have run out of ideas. I’m not lumping all conservatives in with James, just the ones who seem to have one answer to every question: NO.
James’ big deal in the last election was ‘just say no’ to the rainy day fund. Now I think a lot of people are happy we had that rainy day fund, becasue it’s awful wet outside.
In many ways, the difference you’re talking about is the difference between the failure of Fob James in the 90s and the success of Bob Riley in the 00s.
You’ve got to have ideas. If Byrne has some, I’m game for listening. I think a lot of people are.
Captain Obvious: How can you label Byrne a “go along and get along” type when he’s been breaking glass ever since he took over the 2 year college system? I don’t know how you define your conservative spectrum, but when Joe Reed calls Byrne the Fuhrer and Paul Hubbert puts a target on his back it’s pretty tough to say he’s in the mushy middle.
Who is running the Tim James opposition research/ search and destroy machine? They seem to post 3-4 negative comments any time Byrnes name shows up in the press.
Byrne seems to be the only person in this state willing to stand up to Hubbert on a consistent basis, and beat him.
Byrne gets my vote if the election were held today and I can vote for anyone even rumored to be running
Don’t know who is running it but obviously must be an entity that views the John Birch Society as a dangerous left wing organization.
We’ve been lucky in Huntsville this week – each of the Republican gubernatorial candidates will have been on WVNN 77AM / 92.5FM: Byrne on Monday, James on Tuesday, Ivey scheduled for Thursday, and Bentley scheduled for Friday.
The Democrat candidates don’t seem to like talking to constituents via the radio…
Correction – WVNN 770AM.
Brian and I (Flashpoint) also have an extra-special guest on this Friday (we get to host WVNN this Friday while Dale Jackson is on vacation).
The reason I say Bradley Byrne is a “moderate” is that Brradley’s own wife – who I would guess knows him – identified him in print as a “moderate” in an article in the “Mobile Press Register.” You can google it – it’s there.
Bradley was also a Democrat (big D) for at least 20 years and supported Bill Clinton with his vote AND his money.
And as far as him “standing up to Paul Hubbert” – Bryne had Hubbert’s full support when he first ran for school board. He only stopped supporting Bradley when bradley switched parties in the late 1990s. by that time, Byrne had supported Bill Clinton, Mike Dukakis, and Walter Mondale.
Maybe “moderate” doesn’t go far enough . . .
Here’s the ‘Press Register” headline (copied and pasted) that ID’s Byrne as a “moderate”:
Bradley Byrne: Partisan, moderate, strong contender for governor in 2010
Sunday, September 28, 2008
By GEORGE R. ALTMAN
a moderate is not always a bad thing. we don’t need anyone to the extreme right or left in the Govs office in my view. I’m open to hear what Byrne has to say in the campaign.
Tim James is the guest speaker the Madison County GOP breakfast this Saturday. I hope to meet him and chat for a minute…
Hey I am NOT saying it’s abad thing if Bradley is a moderate. I am just pointing out that he has been characterized as one by his family and the media. James is a hard-line rightist. I think we are going to see a microcosm of the current national battle for the heart and soul of the GOP right here in Alabama.
This is Eisenhower vs. Taft (moderate vs. conservative), Rockefeller vs. Goldwater, Ford versus Reagan all over again.
I think the biggest difference between this race and a real conservative vs. moderate GOP primary (like say Rubio vs. Crist in Florida) is that Byrne is a former Democrat. And not a Democrat who flipped during the Reagan revolution; he was a delegate for Mondale and Clinton. You can argue that Shelby has the same issue, but he has never faced a serious primary challenger since switching parties. Bradley Byrne reminds me an awful lot of Arlen Specter. I just don’t see how someone who was such a big supporter of Dems like Mondale and Clinton can turn around and claim to be a loyal Republican.
if byrne was indeed a delegate for mondale and clinton i am sure james will bring that out… he needs to – and i would like to hear byrne’s reply. after all – there are plenty of old dems that have now seen the light !
The party switcher attack has never worked well in GOP Primaries, e.g. Fob ‘94, Windom ‘98. Paul Hubbert’s dislike for Byrne is not because he switched parties, it’s because he has challenged AEA policies and politics with some success. Very few in Montgomery can say that. Actions speak louder than words — or labels.
If it is a two man race – James ain’t one of the two!
princeliberty – don’t discount tim james work thus far in this race. he is a step ahead. he has been out early making the rounds and is loaded with money should he chose to spend it. he also has some very conservative voters that will stick with him and turn out to vote. i do think he is one of the two to look out for…like him or not. if that nut roy moore jumps in the race though….he could pull some votes from james as they share a constituency in my view.
Byrne is the Republican front-runner. He will have the backing of the Riley money crowd and he will have the backing of the national political structure. His now low name rec will go up as he moves around the state as a campaigner. How he will play against either Davis or Cobb is up in the air. Both are far more inspiring speakers and either og them would challenge Byrne’s bid to be the modern, new generation candidate.
On another note, given all the rumored polling going on in the Dem race, wonder when some of the numbers are going to leak. I have not seen the AEA numbers but it is interesting that the draft Sue Bell talk started to cool as soon as AEA finished its sampling. Coincidence?
Del,
AEA numbers likely won’t come out anytime soon. There is no reason for them to leak. Maybe if they justified Sue Bell’s foray into the race, they would slip out. Davis is the only one that would want to leak those numbers, and he doesn’t have the “ins” with AEA or Montgomery insiders to get access to them. I’m sure we will see them if and when Davis is out of the primary.
I find no coincidence in the Cobb talk cooling after the AEA numbers. From what I hear, however, she is not entirely convinced that she cannot win. Word is, her shot at getting out of the primary is around 30%. Not encouraging news for her. We will see where he true allegiances lie. She conviced the voters of this State to hire her as the Chief Executive of the Judiciary, the job she has always wanted. Now she appears to be saying that Chief Executive of the Judiciary is not good enough; she wants to be Chief Executive of another branch of government. It’s a difficult sale to make, I think.
In 1998, Steve Windom won the GOP primary for Lt Gov after having served as a Clinton delegate in both ‘92 and ‘96.
I think that is too far back to impact Byrne.
This is not said as a support statement for Byrne, just hoping that anti-Byrne people don’t hang their hats on that issue.