In just under a year, Abbeville businessman Jimmy Rane has given Republican Gov. Kay Ivey $300,000.00 in campaign contributions. Rane, best known as Yella Fella because of television commercials promoting the yellow colored wood sold by his company, Great Southern Wood Preserving. Ivey listed Rane’s latest donation of $100,000 as a major contribution on June 29.
There is nothing new about Rane donating large sums of money to Republican candidates, especially former Governors Robert Bentley and Bob Riley. Rane remains a stalwart supporter of former Speaker and convicted felon Mike Hubbard.
Rane is listed on Forbes as Alabama’s richest man, earning his fortune by transforming his company from a small family business generating sales of $22,000 in 1971, to more than $1 billion in annual sales today.
Monthly FPCA reports are due on July 7. With Rane’s donation, Ivey currently has $373,497.44 in cash-on-hand.
Ivey will face Democrat Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox in the November general election.
The Jimmy Rane Foundation, founded in 2000, has awarded some 350 college scholarships, according to Forbes.
