Christopher A. Countryman on Tuesday announced that he is officially launching his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, seeking the nomination of the Alabama Democratic Party.
Countryman announced that he will kick off his campaign for governor with a statewide listening tour, during which he will be hearing the concerns that voters have about current issues in the state.
Countryman said that he will also use this opportunity to educate voters about his position on investments into clean renewable energy resources, balancing the state budget, infrastructure redevelopment, economic recovery efforts, education system reform and healthcare system reform.
Countryman’s campaign said that his gubernatorial campaign aims to not only educate voters about his political platform but also to also increase voter turnout for the Democratic Party by strategically targeting key demographics across the state.
Countryman’s campaign said that he has gained significant support for his gubernatorial campaign. Already his campaign’s Facebook page reflects this showing page likes up 2,445 percent over the past 28 days, which follows a monthly trend showing consistent growth in support each month.
Countryman is a motivational speaker, a licensed minister and a civil and human rights activist. He, along with his husband Bruce Countryman, founded Equality Wiregrass in 2015 while advocating for marriage equality in Alabama. If elected, Countryman would be the first openly gay man to be governor of the state.
While with Equality Wiregrass, Countryman organized several demonstrations in Dothan, Alabama which had hundreds in attendance, and both he and his husband were regularly interviewed by local television networks regarding the marriage equality movement in the Wiregrass and in the state.
He is also the founder of The Rethink Alabama Movement which was organized to educate voters on important political issues in the state and to help mobilize and train grassroots volunteers.
Gov. Kay Ivey has announced that she is seeking a second term as Governor. Lee County Pastor Dean Odle is challenging Ivey in the Republican primary. Countryman is the first Democrat to announce his campaign.s
The last two Democrats to win an Alabama gubernatorial election were Don Siegelman in 1998 and George C. Wallace in 1982.
