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GOP governors turn down $66M in aid for jobless. MONTGOMERY - Despite Alabama's rising jobless rate, Gov. Bob Riley on Monday rejected $66 million in the federal economic stimulus funds earmarked to help states fund unemployment benefits. Riley made the announcement after returning from a National Governors Association meeting in Washington, where he and other governors met with President Barack Obama Sunday night. An influential legislator accused Riley of playing politics, along with other Republican governors in the South. But Riley said the stimulus law requires states to change their laws to expand jobless benefits to those who don't normally...

Governor Bob Riley has declared a state of emergency in Alabama, saying he has gotten information from the federal Department of Energy that energy shortages are likely because of Hurricane Ike. A state law that prohibits "unconscionable pricing" of items for sale or rent goes into effect when the governor has declared a state of emergency. Riley's declaration this afternoon says that "disruption of essential utility services, systems and severe energy shortages will likely occur." Earlier today, the governor's office issued a statement saying Riley had limited authority to declare an emergency. State law does not allow the governor to...

Jill Simpson is an unusual woman. A lawyer, she has scratched out an uncertain living in DeKalb County, Alabama. Fellow DeKalb County lawyers describe her as "a very strange person" who "lives in her own world." The daughter of rabid Democrats, she has rarely if ever been known to participate in politics as even a low-level volunteer. Yet today, she is a minor celebrity who is unvaryingly described in the press as a "Republican operative." Those who know her in DeKalb County scoff at the idea that she is a Republican at all. Recently, Simpson's house and law office were...

BIRMINGHAM | More than 2,000 people gathered at Samford University's Jane Hollock Brock Hall on Saturday afternoon to hear the 44th governor of Arkansas, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, speak about why he should be the 44th president of the United States. (Video at bottom of story) 'I still believe that this is a country that's an amazing place to live, and I'll tell you why,' Huckabee said to a large crowd in Brock Hall's main auditorium while about another 1,000 people listened to his speech over a speaker system in an overflow room. 'We can still dream our dreams...

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. It is a joy to be back in Alabama. And I appreciate your warm welcome. I am proud to stand with one of the nation's finest governors, and ask for your help in reelecting Bob Riley as Governor of Alabama. (Applause.) He deserves to be reelected because he's got a record he can run on. He has made you proud. He listens to the people. He shares your values for the good of Alabama and for the good of all citizens, regardless of their political party. Bob Riley needs to be reelected as your governor....

Poll: Riley starts with big lead Capital Bureau Sunday, June 18, 2006 By BILL BARROW MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley is beginning his general election campaign for a second term with a 2-to-1 lead over Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, according to the results of a new statewide survey. The Press-Register/University of South Alabama poll found that Riley, the Republican nominee, was the choice of 53 percent of those polled, while Baxley, the Democratic challenger, garnered 25 percent support. The remaining 22 percent were undecided. Riley's lead in the poll came in part from tangible support among unlikely sources: black voters...

Alabama 2006-06-07 00:46:53 GMT (i) = incumbent = winner = runoff Governor - - Dem Primary 197 of 3240 Precincts Reporting - 6.08% Max Runoff Cands=2 Name Party Votes Pct Baxley, Lucy Dem 15,122 53.46 Siegelman, Don Dem 12,632 44.66 Mack, Katherine Dem 132 .47 Copeland, Joe Dem 124 .44 Mathis, Nathan Dem 124 .44 Potts, James Dem 81 .29 Lyon, Harry Dem 69 .24 Governor - - GOP Primary 197 of 3240 Precincts Reporting - 6.08% Name Party Votes Pct Riley, Bob (i) GOP 26,457 69.55 Moore, Roy GOP 11,581 30.45 Lieutenant Governor - - GOP Primary 105...

Governor's races lead hefty primary ballots Hard-fought campaigns in hands of voters now Tuesday, June 06, 2006 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- It's Alabama politics' version of the Final Four. The top contenders for Alabama governor made their last pitches to the electorate Monday, setting up today's primary contests, which will likely determine who will advance to the general election in November. Gov. Bob Riley, his Republican challenger Roy Moore and Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley each took to the air, with fly-arounds that allowed them to touch down in every corner of the state, including Mobile. Baxley's...

Down to the wire: Candidates make final push Sunday, June 04, 2006 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- The four leading candidates for Alabama governor are all on the road this weekend, scrambling to make last-minute pitches for votes in Tuesday's party primaries that most forecasters say will come down to a simple function of turnout. It's an axiom political strategists use often, because it's true to the point of being elementary: The candidate who gets the best effort and the most votes out of his or her core supporters usually wins. Yet with two contested primaries this year,...

Poll: Riley builds big lead over Moore Sunday, April 16, 2006 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley has stormed to a 44-point lead over challenger Roy Moore in the battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, according to a new statewide survey. The Press-Register/University of South Alabama poll showed Riley with 64 percent support of self-identified Republican primary voters. Moore, the ousted Alabama Supreme Court chief justice, had 20 percent. The findings indicate that the Republican contest is becoming a cakewalk for the incumbent with seven weeks left until the June 6 vote. "These poll results suggest...

Gov. Bob Riley visited five north Alabama cities Thursday urging voters to pressure their legislators to approve his plan to cut their state income taxes. Touring on a chartered bus dubbed the "tax-cut express," Riley in all five stops told the crowds the plan he and most Republican and black Democratic lawmakers have agreed on will help almost all taxpayers, especially poor and working-class families, while doing nothing to harm the funding of state schools. "We have the most immoral tax system in the nation," Riley said. "The system requires a family to begin paying taxes if they make just...

When the votes were counted in the House District 31 special election Tuesday night, it wasn't even close. Republican Barry Mask was the winner by far. Mask took 4,269 votes compared to democrat Bobby Payne's 2,981 votes. That's 59% to 41%. In the portion of Coosa County that falls in the 31st district, Payne beat Mask with 67% of the vote. But in Elmore County, Mask won the county by 69%. Payne is longtime mayor of Tallasee, which is part of Elmore County. When Barry Mask walked into the Elmore County courthouse his supporters went wild. And they stayed excited...

Baxley running for governor Thursday, January 05, 2006 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- Pointing to her rural upbringing, Christian faith, life as a single parent and nearly four decades as a public employee, businesswoman and elected official, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley on Wednesday announced her bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. "This state is made up of everyday people whose families work hard to provide the necessities of life, who try to afford health care and who try to protect their children from the evils of society," Baxley told about 300 campaign workers and supporters gathered in a...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The cast: A Republican incumbent who alienated his base with a proposal to raise taxes. A chief justice who lost his job over his Ten Commandments stand. A former governor under indictment. A lieutenant governor who helped her ex-husband run for governor. The show: Alabama's gubernatorial primaries of 2006. In a state where George C. Wallace and James E. "Big Jim" Folsom made races for governor a must-watch event on the political stage, the current campaigns may be every bit as memorable. On the Republican side, ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, the Ten Commandments defender,...

Riley says Moore sought protection for monument Wednesday, December 21, 2005 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- During the peak of public protests over removal of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore sent an emissary who asked Gov. Bob Riley to call out Alabama National Guard troops to protect the 5,280-pound rock, according to the governor. "That's where Roy and I parted ways," Riley told the Mobile Register of his chief opponent in the upcoming 2006 Republican primary for governor. Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Terry Butts, who came to...

Moore's wife seeks donations in letter Would help him become a `spokesperson for Christian conservatism' Tuesday, December 20, 2005 KIM CHANDLER News staff writer MONTGOMERY - The wife of Republican candidate for governor Roy Moore is asking supporters for a Christmas campaign gift to help her husband become a "national spokesperson for Christian conservatism." Kayla Moore wrote in an e-mail that Christmas was an appropriate time to begin their campaign "to return morality to our country and God to our public square." Her husband is opposed by people who want to promote gay marriage and "remove Christ from Christmas," she...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Gov. Bob Riley told a group of black Republicans that conservative social principles and economic opportunity would draw minority voters. "There are so many things about the Republican Party that naturally fit into the minority community," Riley said Saturday, addressing about 100 people, four-fifths of them black, at an economic affairs summit of the Alabama Republican Council. He said there is "not a place in Alabama you'll feel more at home, if you believe in entrepreneurship, than in the Republican Party." Blacks in Alabama make up more than a quarter of the state's 4.5 million people...

A little-known state senator from Slocomb is moving toward a race for the 2006 Republican nomination for governor, entering a field that includes Gov. Bob Riley and Roy Moore. Though she has said only that she is considering running, Harri Anne Smith, 43, has created a campaign committee and cashed the check on a major donation from Mignon C. Smith, 74-year-old Avondale Mills heiress and longtime Republican Party promoter. Wallace Malone, the longtime CEO of SouthTrust, has a long-standing relationship with Sen. Smith. John Grenier, another prominent Republican, has sent out letters advising donors that she would be calling. And...

An election for every American -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: October 14, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Just because there is no 2008 presidential candidate you're excited about, doesn't mean you can't be involved in politics. Just because there is no congressional candidate you can support in 2006, doesn't mean you can't be involved in politics. Just because there are so few righteous men and women running for office in America today, doesn't mean you are supposed to sit at home and drop out. In fact, it's more important than ever that Americans who revere the Constitution and who understand the...

Gov. Bob Riley, who on Saturday announced his bid for a second term, holds a 19-point lead over ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore among likely voters in the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary, the results of a new statewide survey suggest. The Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll showed Riley with 44 percent and Moore with 25 percent. The remainder were undecided. The results mark a dramatic turnaround from January, when a similar Register-USA poll found Moore leading the governor 43-35 in a hypothetical GOP contest. The findings also defy what was once the prevailing political wisdom in Alabama:...