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US Rep. Davis seeks to be 1st black Ala. governor
Originally published 11:25 a.m., February 6, 2009
Updated 01:23 p.m., February 6, 2009
BIRMINGHAM — U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, an early supporter of Barack Obama with uncanny similarities to the new president, announced his Democratic candidacy for governor Friday in a bid to become the first black to win Alabama's top office.
Davis, a Harvard-educated lawyer in his 40s like Obama, ended months of speculation with his announcement, attended by a crowd of at least 100 people, made up largely of whites. That voting bloc will be crucial for Davis to win in 2010.
"I will not promise you this path will be easy," said Davis, 41, who chaired Obama's campaign in Alabama.
"Yes, this will be hard, but if find our way, we can build a state like we have never known, not at some distant point called one day, but right now, in our season," he said.
Davis has more than $1.1 million in his congressional campaign account that he can use for his gubernatorial bid.
He will face a Democratic field that's likely to include Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., who served a partial term as governor during the early 1990s, and possibly Ron Sparks, Alabama's agriculture commissioner. Both are white.
Like the new president, Davis overcame long odds to make it in politics. He was raised in Montgomery by a single mother and grandmother yet went on to graduate from Harvard University's law school, where he met Obama.
A skilled orator, Davis upset a black incumbent to win Alabama's 7th Congressional District. He has either won easily or had no opposition in re-elections to the mostly black district, which extends from Birmingham to rural west Alabama. He has styled himself as a moderate pragmatist who looks out for the needy in his district, but also has business interests in mind.
Davis can't win unless he attracts large numbers of white supporters in a state where, in a 2000 referendum, 40 percent of voters opposed ending a constitutional ban on mixed-race marriage.
Exit polls in November showed Obama got fewer than 20 percent of the white vote. Republican John McCain easily won the state.
Voter registration among blacks than whites grew before the Nov. 4 election, but whites still make up almost three-quarters of registered voters in Alabama, which is about 70 percent white.
In last year's Democratic presidential primary, about half of those voting were black. If he wins the party nomination, he would still need nearly all the black vote and about 40 percent of the white vote in the general election.
"That has been very difficult for even white Democratic candidates in recent election cycles," said Jess Brown, a political scientist at Athens State University in northern Alabama.
Blacks hold scores of local offices and make up about 25 percent of each chamber in the Alabama Legislature, but no other minority candidate has previously had a real chance to win the governor's office.
Republican Gov. Bob Riley is barred from seeking a third term. The GOP race to succeed Riley is expected to more crowded than the Democratic contest.
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Comments
Posted by TheDude (Michael Wells) on February 6, 2009 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sir Charles wasn't "serious"? Man, Perry County might have 14 paid holidays before it's all said and done ...
Posted by eagle1 (anonymous) on February 6, 2009 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gu⋅ber⋅na⋅to⋅ri⋅al
"of or pertaining to a state governor or the office of state of the governor."
Who on earth coined this word. It's absolutely disgusting. I thought I would offer this "FYI" just in case some didn't know the meaning of the word. :B
Posted by blkpower (anonymous) on February 6, 2009 at 3:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You people really kill me. Why can't we accept that my President of the United States is black. Now Artur Davis is going to run for governor. What is the problem. We the African Americans can not understand. I hope that Mr. Davis does become governor of Alabama. Who ever is stil living in the 1800's need to get a life and move on. You are the reason why society is the way it is now. If you are a Christian you need prayer.
Posted by November162000 (anonymous) on February 6, 2009 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
kw: That is, without a doubt, the absolute BEST comment that I have read in these posts since they first began. Absolutely on target.
blkpwr: You just outed yourself as the problem here. I think that if anybody is still living in the 1800's it is YOU. You might want to check for sharks before you jump in the water. And while you are doing all that praying, why don't you pray that God will help you get that chip off your shoulder? Then go see a proctologist and get your head and your attitude removed to daylight.
Posted by TheDude (Michael Wells) on February 6, 2009 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Man, oh Man! Why is it that the claws come out on Friday?
Posted by November162000 (anonymous) on February 6, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just another day...
Posted by gkeys (anonymous) on February 6, 2009 at 7:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just what do you mean by “you people” blkpower? Do you even realize just how racist THAT is? How is it okay for you to have a screen name like blkpower? If someone had a screen name like whtpwr, you would automatically label them as being racist. Those who cast stones shouldn’t live in glass houses!
Posted by Tommy (anonymous) on February 6, 2009 at 10:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
IF we take all the candidates and listen to their plans for the future of Alabama and vote for the 1 that we feel is the most qualified and if it happens to not be Mr. Davis then Alabama will be called a backwards State with racist white people, because if you listen to people with the mentality of "blkpower" ALL WHITES are not qualified. This State and Country can't get past racism due to people who need it. Just think about, Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would go broke if it weren't for them pushing the race card. I think most people these days will look at the person, what they stand for and vote on those issues, NOT the color of one's skin.
Posted by AZSneed (anonymous) on February 7, 2009 at 6:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I could careless if Mr. Davis wants to be the first black Governor. If he has a plan to address the issue at hand, and I like what he says, then he gets my vote.
Race,sex,religion, or who you know does not matter, it is the issues.
Posted by travlr423 (anonymous) on February 7, 2009 at 7:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Man,......... i wish someone had told me, Obama was black before i voted for him. what will my friends and family think when they find out i voted for a black man. what kinda of monster am i. maybe i should go take a shower now, i feel so violated.
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