Bradley Byrne, who recently stepped down as Chancellor of Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, announced his candidacy for governor of Alabama last Wednesday and was present at the Lee County GOP dinner in Opelika on Saturday.
Byrne, a native of Mobile, served as chief executive officer of Alabama's two-year college system for two years before stepping down May 18. He is attributed with bringing reform to a corrupt educational system.
Caleb Byrd, executive director of the Auburn University College Republicans, is looking for a candidate with true conservative values, but thinks it is too soon to pick a candidate for the upcoming election. "I want to see who is running and who follows my line of thinking most closely," Byrd said. However, Byrd admits that Byrne's experience and focus on education are promising. "In the past, Alabama has been very behind in education," Byrd said. "We need somebody with a track record and experience."
Drew Tharp, a senior in industrial design and the campaign director for AUCR, says that, at this point in the race, he is leaning in favor of Byrne. "He has really improved the two-year college system," Tharps said. "As a student, education should be primary. The economy is second, and he has taken a pretty strong stance on that as well." He also noted that Robert Bentley, one of Byrne's opponents for the GOP candidacy, seemed to go into depth on the not-so-obvious topics, which he appreciated, while Byrne is focusing heavily on hot-topic issues like education and the economy.
"With all his experience in the two-year-college system, Byrne obviously has a great education policy," said Elizabeth Mahaney, a senior in public relations and an active member of AUCR. Mahaney, although she calls herself a strong Republican, says she votes for the person, not the party. With that ideology in mind, she has her sights on Democratic candidate, Artur Davis who, if elected, would be Alabama's first black governor. "He has a lot of really great ideas," Mahaney said. "He wants to go green in a lot of areas and I think that is awesome. He is optimistic, but also practical." However, like Byrd, Mahaney thinks it is still early in the campaign and is impressed by Byrne's record with education.
All three AUCR members agree on the fact that students' votes are important in this election. "The people who are really involved in college Republicans and college Democrats have the responsibility to get the word out to vote," Tharp said. "You have to hammer home the issues that pertain to students."
With only six months until Election Day, Auburn students are encouraged to get involved in local politics, whereas before, student poll numbers have been low compared to major elections. "I think we are going to see a huge change in that area," Mahaney said.
Today is the kickoff for fundraising for the gubernatorial candidates' campaigns. Campaign signs will soon pop up as the candidates begin their march to Election Day in November 2010. "Tailgating season is coming up, and that is a huge outlet for campaign," Mahaney said.
Byrd noted the trend in Alabama politics for candidates to focus too much energy too early in the race. "The Republican Party will have to be careful not to spend all its resources on the primaries," he said.
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