Tommy Battle qualifies for governor’s race

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Via Battle's Facebook page: Tommy Battle signs paperwork qualifying himself for governors race

On Thursday, Tommy Battle, the current mayor of Huntsville, qualified as a gubernatorial candidate in the Republican primary.

In a packed restaurant in Hoover, surrounded by his family, friends and supporters, Battle signed the paperwork to make his run official.

Battle has his sights set on being Alabama’s new leader. “I’m running for governor because we’re in a battle for Alabama’s future, and I’m ready to lead us in a new direction,” said Battle. “While the ship of state may be settled, it is time to move it forward. Alabama has been stagnant for far too long, and I’m ready to get us moving forward.”

Battle has been Huntsville’s mayor for the past nine years. Huntsville is one of the fastest growing major cities in the state, every day, 6 new people are moving to Huntsville’s metro area.

During his time as mayor, Battle said he’s assisted in recruiting over 25,000 jobs to the area. Just in the last week, Battle and Gov. Kay Ivey announced Toyota and Mazda’s new 1.6 billion dollar manufacturing facility which will bring 4,000 new jobs to the area. The job growth Battle has helped recruit has generated more than 4.1 billion dollars in economic investment for the Huntsville area, and Battle wants to bring that same success to the rest of the state.

“We’ve had a lot of success because our plan works,” stated Battle. “We’re ready to take that plan to Montgomery and work on behalf of all of Alabama’s 67 counties.”

Currently, the Republican candidates who have officially qualified are Gov. Kay Ivey, Tommy Battle and Michael McAllister. Sen. Bill Hightower and Pastor Scott Dawson have also declared their candidacies for governor but have not formally qualified yet.

Battle and Ivey are well ahead of the competition when it comes to fundraising. Ivey has currently raised more than $2 million, and Battle almost $1.2 million.

The Democratic and Republican primaries will be held on June 5 with the general election on Nov. 6.

Photos Via Tommy Battle’s facebook page.