2014 Alabama gubernatorial election

The 2014 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Alabama.

2014 Alabama gubernatorial election

November 4, 2014

Nominee Robert J. Bentley Parker Griffith Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 750,231 427,787 Percentage 63.6% 36.2%

County results Bentley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Griffith:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Robert J. Bentley Republican Elected Governor Robert J. Bentley Republican

Incumbent Republican Governor Robert J. Bentley ran for re-election to a second term in office. He defeated Democratic former U.S. Representative Parker Griffith in the general election. However, Bentley only served out two years of his term; he resigned in April 2017 due to a scandal and was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey.

Republican primary

Declared

• Robert J. Bentley, incumbent Governor[1][2]
• Stacy Lee George, former Morgan County Commissioner[3]
• Bob Starkey, retired software company owner and candidate for Mayor of Scottsboro in 2012[4]

Declined

• Tommy Battle, Mayor of Huntsville[5]
• Bradley Byrne, U.S. Representative and candidate for Governor in 2010 (ran for re-election)[2][6]
• David Carrington, President of the Jefferson County Commission (ran for re-election)[7]
• Beth Chapman, former Secretary of State of Alabama[8]
• Mike Hubbard, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives (ran for re-election)[9]
• Mary Scott Hunter, Member of the Alabama State Board of Education (ran for re-election)[10]
• Kay Ivey, Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (ran for re-election)[11]
• Tim James, businessman, son of former Governor Fob James and candidate for Governor in 2002 and 2010[2]
• Del Marsh, President Pro Tempore of the Alabama Senate (ran for re-election)[11]
• Roy Moore, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and candidate for Governor in 2006 and 2010[2]
• Tony Petelos, Jefferson County Manager and former Mayor of Hoover[2]
• Bob Riley, former governor of Alabama[11]
• Luther Strange, Attorney General of Alabama (ran for re-election)[12]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Robert J. Bentley	Stacy Lee George	Bob Starkey	Undecided
Cygnal	May 29–30, 2014	1,217	± 2.81%	80.7%	5.1%	5.3%	8.9%
Cygnal	May 19–20, 2014	1,324	± 2.69%	73.3%	3.1%	1.8%	21.8%

Results

Republican primary results[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert J. Bentley (incumbent)	388,247	89.35%
	Republican	Stacy Lee George	25,134	5.78%
	Republican	Bob Starkey	21,144	4.87%
Total votes			434,525	100.00%

Democratic primary

Declared

• Kevin Bass, businessman, former professional baseball player and candidate for Mayor of Fayette in 2012[14]
• Parker Griffith, former U.S. Representative[15]

Declined

• Billy Beasley, state senator[16]
• Regina Benjamin, former Surgeon General of the United States[17][18]
• Sue Bell Cobb, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court[17][19][20]
• Vivian Davis Figures, Minority Leader of the Alabama Senate and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2008[21]
• Craig Ford, Minority Leader of the Alabama House of Representatives[22]
• Pete Johnson, retired Jefferson County Judge[23]
• John Rogers, state representative[2]
• Robert Vance, Jefferson County Circuit Judge and nominee for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012[24]

Results

County results

Democratic primary results[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Parker Griffith	115,433	63.90%
	Democratic	Kevin Bass	65,225	36.10%
Total votes			180,658	100.00%

Independents

Declined

• Charles Barkley, former NBA player[26]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[27]	Solid R	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[28]	Safe R	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[29]	Safe R	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[30]	Safe R	November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Robert Bentley (R)	Parker Griffith (D)	Other	Undecided
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	661	± 6%	63%	25%	0%	12%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	September 20 – October 1, 2014	692	± 4%	65%	28%	1%	6%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	August 18 – September 2, 2014	741	± 5%	62%	28%	1%	9%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	July 5–24, 2014	1,036	± 5.2%	59%	31%	2%	9%
Rasmussen Reports	June 9–10, 2014	750	± 4%	55%	32%	4%	9%

Results

2014 Alabama gubernatorial election[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert J. Bentley (incumbent)	750,231	63.56%	+5.66%
	Democratic	Parker Griffith	427,787	36.24%	-5.86%
	Write-in		2,395	0.20%	N/A
Total votes			1,180,413	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. Chandler, Kim (April 9, 2013). "Gov. Robert Bentley says he is running again in 2014". Press-Register. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
2. Dean, Charles J. (June 3, 2012). "Alabama's Robert Bentley looks to 2014 governor race". The Birmingham News. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
3. "Alabama's Bentley draws 2014 opposition from man who would be "gun-toting governor"". Associated Press. April 11, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
4. Cason, Mike (February 6, 2014). "Bob Starkey of Scottsboro joins race for Republican nomination for governor". AL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
5. Doyle, Steve (January 14, 2014). "Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle won't challenge Gov. Robert Bentley in 2014". AL.com. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
6. "Gov. Bentley GOP Front Runner for 2014 Governor's Race". Archived from the original on 2013-12-19.
7. Wright, Barnett (June 14, 2013). "Jeffco President David Carrington for governor? Some have asked". al.com. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
8. Sims, Cliff (April 2, 2013). "Chapman Will Not Seek Elective office in 2014". Yellow Hammer Politics. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
9. Sulhoff, Katy (June 13, 2012). "House Speaker Mike Hubbard: "I'm not running for Governor..."". WAKA. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
10. Stephens, Challen (August 20, 2013). "Mary Scott Hunter calls censure by Huntsville GOP a symptom of Republican splintering". al.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
11. Phillip, Rawls (April 14, 2013). "Bentley no longer 'underdog,' riding high in primary polls". The Gadsden Times. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
12. Talbot, George (June 6, 2012). "As Democrats decline, fight shifts to Alabama GOP". Press-Register. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
13. "Official Alabama Secretary of State results" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
14. Cason, Mike (December 26, 2013). "Business owner, former pro baseball player Kevin Bass running for governor as a Democrat". AL.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
15. Doyle, Steve (February 7, 2014). "Former GOP Congressman Parker Griffith will run for Alabama governor as Democrat (updated)". AL.com. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
16. Cason, Mike (February 6, 2014). "State Sen. Billy Beasley running for re-election to Senate, rather than for governor". AL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
17. Cason, Mike (July 6, 2013). "Clock is running: Can surgeon general offer cure for candidate-less Alabama Democrats?". AL.com. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
18. Cason, Mike (September 13, 2013). "Former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin says she hasn't ruled out running for governor of Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
19. Talbot, George (June 3, 2013). "Danny Sheridan sets odds on 2014 Alabama governor's race". AL.com. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
20. "Cobb: "I'm not a candidate for governor"". The Montgomery Independent. December 26, 2013. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
21. Dean, Charles J. (July 16, 2013). "Sen. Vivian Davis Figures: Racism has played role in Republican rise to dominance in Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
22. Loeb, Jeremy (February 6, 2014). "Two Democrats Announce Intentions". Alabama Public Radio. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
23. Flowers, Steve (August 16, 2013). "Alabama no longer elects "boy governors"". Gulf Coast News Today. Archived from the original on 2013-12-10. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
24. Lockette, Tim (July 7, 2013). "Alabama governor has big money lead in 2014 race". The Anniston Star. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
25. "Alabama 2014 Official Democratic Primary Results for state races" (PDF). alabamavotes.gov. June 3, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
26. Goddard, Taegan (January 26, 2011). "Sir Charles Will Not Run for Governor". Political Wire. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
27. "2014 Governor Race Ratings for November 3, 2014". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
28. "The Crystal Ball's Final 2014 Picks". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
29. "2014 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
30. "2014 Elections Map - 2014 Governors Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
31. https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/voter-pdfs/2014/2014GeneralResults-WithWriteIn.pdf

External links

• 2014 Alabama gubernatorial election at Curlie
• Alabama gubernatorial election, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Robert Bentley for Governor incumbent
• Kevin Bass for Governor
• Parker Griffith for Governor