By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – New polling shows Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey with a big lead over her primary opponents and well positioned to win without a runoff in the June 5 GOP Primary Election.
In an internal survey conducted for the Ivey campaign and obtained by Alabama Daily News, 58 percent of likely Republican voters would choose the sitting governor if the election was held today. That would put Ivey comfortably above the 50 percent-plus-one threshold needed to avoid a runoff.
Survey Results
- Kay Ivey – 58%
- Tommy Battle 18%
- Scott Dawson 7%
- Bill Hightower 5%
POLLING MEMO: Ivey for Governor- Key Findings
Ivey’s closest competitor in the survey was Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, who is the choice of 18 percent of likely voters. Birmingham minister Scott Dawson took seven percent and Mobile State Senator Bill Hightower took five percent. The survey shows that 12 percent of primary voters are still undecided with less than two weeks to go until Election Day.
Recent personal attacks seem to have not harmed the governor’s popularity among the electorate. Seventy-five percent (75%) of primary voters have a favorable impression of the Camden native.
Conversely, Ivey’s opponents are struggling to get voters attention in a relatively slow campaign cycle. Battle, Ivey’s most serious competitor who has been airing campaign ads statewide for the last month, is only known by 45 percent of likely GOP voters.
The poll was conducted by The Tarrance Group and is based on the findings of live telephone interviews with 602 likely Alabama Republican primary voters. Responses to this survey were gathered May 20-22, 2018, and the margin of error is +/- 4.1%.
Stacy Column: A turn for the dramatic in the Alabama Governor’s race.