New polling shows that the GOP race for governor may be heading to a runoff with Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and incumbent Kay Ivey.
The polling, which was released last week, took a look at several Southern political races and made a startling prediction about the GOP nomination for governor.
“It appears that with less than three weeks to go, that Ivey and Battle will be in the runoff, and there is a slim chance that Battle will come in first,” the poll read.
The poll was released by Ray Evans, who Battle says is an “Alabama pollster.” According to its findings, the race is still being led by Ivey, but it says that Battle has only a single digit deficit to the sitting governor.
The Battle campaign touted the poll in a recent release, and they said it showed Battle was shortening the lead that Ivey has on him.
“These numbers are very encouraging to my campaign and our supporters,” Battle said. “It shows all of the hard work that we’ve put in over the last year about my plan and vision for a better Alabama is paying off. We’re going to continue to spread our message and push through these last two weeks. There’s still time to get onboard the battleship.”
While the poll says a runoff is possible, Ivey’s campaign is sure that the primary will end in a decisive victory. Recently, the governor’s campaign promoted a new Morning Consultant’s poll that showed Ivey is among the most popular governors in the country.
According to the poll, Ivey’s approval ratings are above 60 percent.
