Son of former Alabama Governor Fob James and two-time gubernatorial candidate Tim James launched his third attempt for the Alabama governorship Wednesday by preaching his opposition to medical marijuana, gambling, same-sex marriage, vaccine mandates and called his supporters to “engage in this righteous crusade to take back America, one state at a time.”
James, a toll road developer and former running back at Auburn University, also criticized Republicans in Montgomery and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who is seeking re-election, stating Ivey and state leadership had caved to “political parasites who care nothing about you, or this cultural battle being waged,” in his Wednesday address.
“Personally, I believe our governor is a good person,” James said. “She has been a friend of our family for 40 years. But I think the administration is overwhelmed. And I am running for governor because I believe the leadership in this state have capitulated to the political structures that control Montgomery. They just don’t have the stomach for the fight.”
During the previous legislative session in 2021, Alabama legalized medical marijuana, a move James said creates “a state-run drug cartel” in Alabama and opens “an orchestrated path” for full legalization for recreational.
“They tried to camouflage the poison by telling us it was to help people in pain,” James said. “Look, I’m all about helping people in pain. But this isn’t about pain. It’s about the money, and it is being pushed by wealthy and influential people in this state who justify their greed with self-righteous hypocrisy; they consider themselves pillars of the community.”
James voiced similar disdain for Alabama’s recent attempts to form a state lottery and authorize new casino locations, stating “casino barons who are trying to turn our state into a gambling mecca with nine full-scale casinos,” and that if Alabama cities receive approval to construct casinos, they would be transformed into “models of decay,” according to James.
“They just want their money, and they have drawn their swords for one final push while they still have time,” James said. “They know that Tim James will never let them turn Alabama into the Las Vegas of the South.”
In an obvious appeal to the evangelical right, James said the U.S. Supreme Court “has detached law from truth,” with concern to abortion and same-sex marriage, despite recent indication that the Court’s conservative wing is willing to roll back protections for legalized abortion, prompting some states to propose state protections on same-sex marriage.
“These unelected, left-wing judges decreed a new definition of marriage — including those of the same sex — leading to the forced acceptance of transgenderism, all of which conflict with the nature and character of God,” James said. “Marxism is at our doorstep, and those that embrace it have a desire to remove every aspect of God from society, so reliance and faith is on government and not on the One that created government.”
In another criticism of Republican leaders and Ivey, James decried previous employee vaccine mandates at the University of Alabama at Birmingham — failing to mention similar vaccine mandates for employees at the University of Alabama and his alma mater — and pledged never to “cave” to federal vaccine mandates.
“There was no opposition from the governor and the top Republicans when UAB issued their mandate; the only sound heard was silence until the Attorney General stepped in and issued a stop order,” James said. “In other words, it was OK for UAB to fire Alabama workers, but not OK for Biden to do it.”
James enters an already crowded gubernatorial race, joining current Alabama Governor Kay Ivey; former ambassador to Slovenia Lindy Blanchard; former Books-A-Million CEO Lew Burdette; former Morgan County Commissioner Stacy George; and Pastor of Opelika’s Fire And Grace Church Dean Odle.
