Tim James, an Alabama businessman and son of former Gov. Fob James, is expected to enter the governor’s race soon. Multiple sources confirmed to APR that James will formally announce his challenge to Gov. Kay Ivey in the Republican primary.
Former ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead and others have been working behind the scene to line up supporters for James’ bid to oust Alabama’s popular governor, which many see as a profitless endeavor.
Several veteran politicos in private conversation have questioned the wisdom of James’ decisions while some in the Republican Party base have quietly encouraged him to run.
In September, James spoke from the Capitol steps to warn of a three-headed beast that he fears is infecting Alabama school children.
“I’m appealing to our people to consider that our children are in the crosshairs of hell itself, and my prayer is that everyone will take the time to consider this message,” James said. “The three doctrines are like a beast with three heads. Each head represents a lying doctrine, and all three taken together are an unprecedented assault on children.”
During his speech, James condemned Critical Race Theory, an academic concept that concludes racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.
James listed as the second beast an acceptance of transgender youths.
“It is indoctrination of children that conflicts with and is in opposition to the nature and character of God,” said James in September. “There are inherent dangers of the opposite sex in bathrooms, and permanent damage can happen from hormone therapy at any age.”
According to James, the third head of the beast is yoga, which was banned in Alabama schools until recently. In his Capitol speech, James implied that the practice was a backdoor into Hindu religion and thought.
He has also been critical of Ivey’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and her comments about unvaccinated individuals being a problem.
In 2010, James said if elected governor, he would end multilingual testing for driver’s licenses in Alabama in favor of English-only testing. James’ “we speak English” commercial was widely lampooned nationally.
James in 2010 came in third in the Republican primary, losing a runoff bid to second-place finisher — and eventual primary winner — Robert Bentley by 167 votes. Bentley would leave office in disgrace.
