Kay Ellen Ivey ( ; born October 15, 1944) is an American politician from Alabama. A member of the Republican Party, Ivey has served since 2017 as the 54th governor of Alabama.
Ivey was the assistant director of the Alabama Development Office from 1982 to 1985. From 1985 to 1998, she worked as director of government affairs and communications for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Ivey served from 2003 to 2011 as the 38th Alabama state treasurer and from 2011 to 2017 as the 30th lieutenant governor of Alabama.
On April 10, 2017, Ivey became Alabama's second female governor upon the resignation of her predecessor, Robert J. Bentley. She won a full term in 2018 and was reelected in 2022. She is the longest-serving female governor in U.S. history.
Because of term limits, Ivey is ineligible for reelection to a third term.
Early life, education, and early career Ivey was born on October 15, 1944, in Camden, Alabama, as the only child to Boadman Nettles Ivey and Barbara Elizabeth Ivey (née Nettles). Her father, who served as an officer in the U.S. Army during World War II, worked with the Gees Bend community as part of the Farmers Home Administration.
Growing up in Camden, Ivey worked on her father's farm. She graduated from Auburn University, where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, becoming president of her first-year pledge class, and served in the Student Government Association all four years. In 1967, Ivey participated in a blackface skit while attending Auburn. When questioned about the skit in 2019, she initially claimed not to have taken part in it. After a recording surfaced in which she discussed her participation in the skit, she admitted it and apologized for her conduct.
In 1967, Ivey moved to California and became a high school teacher for several years. She later returned to Alabama and landed a position with Merchants National Bank, where she launched a school relations program to promote financial literacy.
Entry into politics In 1979, Alabama Governor Fob James appointed Ivey to the state cabinet. She served as the reading clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1980 to 1982 and as assistant director of the Alabama Development Office from 1982 to 1985.
In 1982, Ivey ran for state auditor as a Democrat but lost the primary by Jan Cook."State Treasurer," The Birmingham News, November 3, 2002, p. 2B Ivey was director of government affairs and communications for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education from 1985 to 1998."State Treasurer," The Montgomery Advertiser, November 3, 2002, p. A7
Alabama State Treasurer (2003–2011)
Ivey ran for state treasurer as a Republican in 2002. She defeated Stephen Black, the grandson of former United States Supreme Court justice Hugo Black, with 52% of the vote. In 2006, Ivey was reelected over Democratic nominee Steve Segrest by a 20-point margin. She was the first Republican elected state treasurer since Reconstruction.
Ivey served as treasurer during the near-complete financial collapse of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program. Under this program the state assured tens of thousands of Alabama families that their investment in the program would guarantee their children four years' tuition at any state college. During the period after the program's inception in 1990, many of the state's colleges increased the cost of tuition at triple the inflation rate (or more), and that combined with stock market downturns in 2000 and 2008 made the program financially unsustainable. The state legislature subsequently bailed it out.
Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (2011–2017)
Under the Alabama Constitution, Ivey was not eligible to seek reelection to a third term as state treasurer in 2010. Her name surfaced in press speculation about gubernatorial candidates in 2010."Hubbard Keeping Options Open for 2010," Opelika-Auburn News, January 18, 2008"Democrats Can't Start a Fire Without a Sparks," Roll Call, May 15, 2007
In 2009, Ivey announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2010 elections, joining a crowded field of seven Republican candidates.George Altman, Some GOP gubernatorial candidates run to right of Roy Moore on religion, AL.com (November 19, 2009).Kay Ivey unveils TV ad for GOP gubernatorial campaign, Associated Press (February 15, 2010). In March 2010, Ivey abandoned her run for governor and qualified to run for lieutenant governor. She ran against State Senator Hank Erwin of Montevallo and schoolteacher Gene Ponder of Baldwin County for the Republican nomination.Dean Young of Gulf Shores drops out of lieutenant governor's race, Associated Press (April 2, 2010). In the June 2010 primary election, Ivey won the nomination with 56.6% of the vote, to Erwin's 31.4% and Ponder's 12%.Primary Election - June 1, 2010, Alabama Secretary of State.
In the November 2010 elections, in a Republican sweep of statewide offices, Ivey defeated Democratic incumbent Lieutenant Governor Jim Folsom Jr., who had sought an unprecedented fourth term. Ivey received 764,112 votes to Folsom's 718,636.State of Alabama, Canvass of Results, General Election November 2, 2010, Alabama Secretary of State.
In 2014, Ivey was challenged in the Republican primary by pastor Stan Cooke of Jefferson County.Mike Cason,Stan Cooke challenges Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey in Republican primary (updated, video), AL.com (August 20, 2013). Ivey received the support of major lobbying groups, such as the Business Council of Alabama, Alabama Retail Association, Alabama Farmers Federation, and Alabama Forestry Association.Phillip Rawls, Incumbent Kay Ivey has endorsements in Alabama lieutenant governor's race, Associated Press (April 26, 2017). Ivey defeated Cooke in the primary, with 257,588 votes (61.68%) to Cooke's 160,023 (38.32%).Certification of Results - Republican Party Primary (certified June 13, 2014), Alabama Secretary of State. In the general election, Ivey faced Democratic nominee James C. Fields, a former state legislator.Paul Gattis, Democrat James Fields looking to pull surprise against Kay Ivey in lieutenant governor's race, AL.com (November 3, 2014). In November 2014, Ivey won reelection with 738,090 votes to Fields's 428,007.Certified General Election Results - Without Write-in Appendix (Certified 11/24/2014), Alabama Secretary of State. This marked the first time a Republican was reelected lieutenant governor in the state's history.
Governor of Alabama (2017–present)
Succession and elections Ivey was sworn in as governor following the resignation of Robert J. Bentley on April 10, 2017. She is the second female governor in the state's history. The first was Lurleen Wallace, the wife of former governor George Wallace; she was governor for about 16 months in 1967 and 1968, until her death from cancer.
In September 2017, Ivey announced that she would seek election to a full term in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Ivey won a full term in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Walt Maddox.
In June 2021, Ivey's office announced her decision to run for a second full term as governor in 2022. Ivey drew 14 challengers by the time the candidate qualification period closed. Eight of those running against her were doing so in the Republican primary. Ivey won the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Yolanda Flowers in the general election.
Tenure Ivey is the longest-serving female governor in American history and the "longest continually-serving governor in Alabama history".
2017 U.S. Senate special election Former U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions resigned from that office in February 2017 to serve as U.S. Attorney General, whereupon then-Governor Bentley chose Luther Strange to succeed Sessions in the Senate, pending a special election that Bentley controversially scheduled for 2018 instead of sooner."Election to Fill the Vacancy of Sen. Jeff Sessions", Legislative Reference Service (February 13, 2017). When Ivey succeeded Bentley, she rescheduled the special election for December 12, 2017.
After former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat, The Washington Post published an article revealing allegations of sexual abuse against minors by Moore, which caused many Republican voters and groups in Alabama to withdraw their support for him. There began to be discussion as to whether Ivey would delay the election to allow the Republicans to field an alternative candidate. Ivey subsequently said: "The election date is set for December 12. Were [Strange] to resign I would simply appoint somebody to fill the remaining time until we have the election on December 12."Hartmann, Margaret. "GOP Mulls Canceling Alabama Senate Election, But State Officials Won't Abandon Roy Moore", New York (November 16, 2017). Ivey stated on November 17 that although she had no reason to disbelieve the allegations, she intended to vote for Moore to protect the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, a statement for which she was criticized.Cason, Mike. Gov. Kay Ivey to vote for Roy Moore in U.S. Senate race, The Birmingham News (November 17, 2017).Michael Scherer & Sean Sullivan, Alabama's GOP governor says she plans to vote for Roy Moore (November 17, 2017). Moore lost the special election to former U.S. Attorney and Democratic nominee Doug Jones.Burns, Alexander, and Jonathan Martin. The New York Times, 12 Dec. 2017, [www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/us/politics/alabama-senate-race-winner.html "Once a Long Shot, Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race."] On December 28 Ivey and Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill certified the senatorial election result despite an attempt by the Moore campaign to delay certification over unsubstantiated accusations of voter fraud.
Abortion In August 2018, after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that blocked the Alabama Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Act, Ivey reflected on her support for the state law while serving as lieutenant governor and said, "we should not let this discourage our steadfast commitment to protect the lives of the unborn, even if that means taking this case to the U.S. Supreme Court." She added that the ruling "clearly demonstrates why we need conservative justices on the Supreme Court" and expressed her support for the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 11th Circuit Court's ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union represented those opposing appeal. ACLU attorney Andrew Beck said, "While we are pleased to see the end of this particular case, we know that it is nowhere near the end of efforts to undermine access to abortion."U.S. Supreme Court declines Alabama bid to revive abortion restriction, Reuters, Lawrence Hurley, June 28, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
On May 15, 2019, Ivey signed the more restrictive House Bill 314, which intended to criminalize abortion as of November 2019, with the exception of cases where the mother's life is under threat or the fetus might not survive. It mandated prison sentences of up to 99 years for physicians performing such surgery, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The bill violated Roe v. Wade, according to which laws banning abortion before fetal viability were unconstitutional, and was expected to be challenged in court. On October 29, shortly before the law was to take effect, a federal judge blocked the statute. Ivey and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said they expected the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling on appeal.Federal Judge blocks Alabama abortion law , WBHM, Andrew Yeager, October 29, 2019.