Walt Maddox to wait until 2018 to announce decision on gubernatorial bid

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Walt Maddox

Democrat and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on Tuesday announced he has yet to decide whether or not he will run for governor in 2018, and that he will make his final decision by mid-January.

“As I have traveled the state and spoken with many Alabamians, it is evident that Montgomery has failed. Behind these failures, our rural healthcare system is collapsing, our infrastructure is failing, and our education system is struggling to compete with surrounding states,” Maddox said in a statement on his website. “From healthcare to education, from infrastructure to job creation, we are running out of time to forge a new Alabama.”

Maddox, who has served as mayor since 2005, was re-elected to a fourth-term in March, went on to say he is investing $50,000 of his own money to continue the exploratory process toward a potential gubernatorial bid.

“To that end, and with great excitement, we are investing $50,000 of our own money to continue this momentum forward,” Maddox added.

Also seeking the Democratic nomination for governor are Jason Childs, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Sue Bell CobbChristopher Countryman and minister Anthony White.

Seeking the GOP nomination for governor are sitting Governor Kay Ivey, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington, evangelist Scott Dawson, Sen. Bill Hightower, Birmingham businessman Josh Jones and former Morgan County Commissioner Stacy Lee George.

The gubernatorial primaries will be June 5, 2018. The gubernatorial election will take place Nov. 6, 2018.