Republican candidates make appearances at the Rocket City Welcome at Ditto Landing

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - There were food trucks, a car show, and plenty of campaign signs.

For the Republican Party, it was a star-studded event in Ditto Landing. Candidates hoping to take the governor’s seat away from Kay Ivey made appearances for the Rocket City Welcome.

Lindy Blanchard, Tim James, and Lew Burdette all had a chance to speak and voice their opinions on how they would fair as governor. The theme revolved around investing in the future of our youth.

“From adding pre-K classrooms, providing math coaches, funding after-school programs, and ensuring we reward our teachers for their admirable work,” incumbent Gov. Ivey said. “We are covering the spread in our education system.”

“We focused on the children in this state,” Blanchard said. “In the last 17 years, we’ve still been focusing on the needy children, the orphans, and the foster children in this state.

“The damage that’s been done to these children is unquestionable. It’s well-known and understood,” James stated. “I mean, you got first and second graders that have never been in a class without a mask.”

In 2020 Alabama ranked in the bottom five for education.

The desire for improvement in education is apparent for those in the audience. One attendee that I talked to said the lack of quality education hampers Alabama’s ability to attract businesses.

“The first question they ask, ‘well, tell us about your schools.’” John Cole, an attendee started. “That is huge for companies and people from the outside coming in for an area to grow. You got to have good schools. You don’t have good schools, those companies will not consider you.”

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