By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, Alabama State Sen. Bill Hightower, R-Mobile, formally qualified with the Republican Party of Alabama to appear as a candidate for governor.
“I am excited about this next step in our journey. We have focused our campaign on my strong conservative record of reform, our conservative vision for Alabama’s future, and our commitment to the people of Alabama that tomorrow will be better than today,” Hightower said. “We can do better. The outpouring of support we have received from all corners of the state has been humbling. I am confident that with the support of my family and the thousands of Alabamians who are rallying behind our message that we will bring the change necessary to turn Montgomery around.”
The Hightower campaign said that he is ranked among the most conservative senators in Alabama and has pushed for smaller government and lower taxes – even sponsoring legislation to change Alabama to the flat tax.
In his youth, Bill worked at his grandparent’s farm, cleaned swimming pools and also worked as a laborer on construction projects. Hightower graduated from the University of South Alabama and later went on to receive his M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
Throughout his business career, Bill has worked with Fortune 500 corporations including Emerson Electric, AlliedSignal, Eaton and Balfour-Beatty. He now runs several small businesses, which makes him uniquely qualified to contribute job-growing policies for hard-working families in Alabama.
Hightower said that he understands that Montgomery is broken and it needs real change to bring real hope to communities all across Alabama. Hightower said that’s why he first ran for the Alabama Senate, and he has seen firsthand that career politicians are not the solution to Alabama’s problems – principled, common-sense conservative leadership is.
Bill is married to Susan Binegar Hightower, and they have three children and three grandchildren.
Sen. Hightower is the fourth candidate to formally qualify for the Republican nomination for governor. He joins Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Gov. Kay Ivey and Michael McAllister in qualifying for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Evangelist Scott Dawson has announced for the position, and Auditor Jim Zeigler is still exploring a run for governor.
The major party primaries will be on June 5, 2018.
