In Alabama, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox recently said, “I believe it’s senseless we continue to educate children in Tennessee, Florida and Georgia,” states with lotteries, while Alabama remains one of the few states without one. Maddox said his opponent, Republican Governor Kay Ivey, “is embedded in the politics of the past and wants to talk about issues that do nothing to move the average Alabamian forward.”
Maddox added, “I am 45 years old and my entire life, we’ve been at, or near, the bottom in everything that matters.” If he wins, Maddox would become the first Democrat elected governor in Alabama since 1998.
Maddox noted since Mississippi lawmakers approved a state lottery this year, Alabama soon will be surrounded by lottery states. He has proposed using lottery proceeds for college scholarships, pre-kindergarten and helping chronically struggling schools.
In addition, Maddox said Ivey is a candidate without solutions and suggested her advisers are scared for her to debate him. “The governor doesn’t think the people of Alabama are worthy of such a debate. She doesn’t believe it’s appropriate for her to talk to the people who pay her salary. My question is what are the governor’s people scared of,” Maddox said.
Besides establishing a state lottery, Maddox said his other key issue is to expand Medicaid.
An Ivey campaign spokeswoman said Maddox’s charges were “a desperate attempt to distract voters from his liberal agenda. Governor Ivey has chosen to focus on governing and creating a brighter future for Alabamians, and it’s paying off. With record employment and education investments, Alabama is working again.
