7. Jim Zeigler looking at governor 2022

• Governor Kay Ivey has already announced that she’ll be running for reelection, but State Auditor Jim Zeigler has reached his term limit and could be considering running for governor in 2022.
• Zeigler recently said Alabama needs someone who will be “a viable opponent who has been raising issues and trying to hold the Ivey administration accountable” and added that’s his reason for “considering myself setting up an exploratory campaign to test the waters for a gubernatorial run.”

6. Minimal consequences for China

• National security adviser Jake Sullivan has laid out the consequences that China could face over the coronavirus, but they’ll mostly be in the form of “isolation in the international community.” China will only face consequences in this context if they don’t allow more investigations into the origin of the coronavirus.
• Sullivan also spoke highly of how President Joe Biden handled G7 leaders and getting them in agreement with more investigations into China’s handling of the pandemic. Sullivan reiterated how the United States can use their own intelligence efforts to investigate instead of only relying on China.

5. Carl thinks Biden needs a mental fitness test

• President Joe Biden’s mental fitness has been a subject of discussion by some since he entered the 2020 presidential race. Now, U.S. Representative Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) has joined 13 other U.S. Representatives to call for Biden to undergo a mental assessment.
• The letter to Biden says “all Presidents should follow the precedent set by President Donald Trump to document and demonstrate sound mental abilities.” It goes on to explain how some of Biden’s “mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent over the past 18 months.” The letter also listed several examples of this “forgetfulness.”

4. 10 killed, including 9 children, in a crash caused by severe weather

• Tropical Depression Claudette is being blamed for a 15-vehicle accident on I-65 south of Montgomery that killed a total of 10 people. Eight of those individuals were girls age four to 17 from a youth ranch operated by the Alabama Sheriffs Association. An additional 24-year-old man and a three-year-old boy were killed in a separate vehicle.
• In total, Claudette claimed 12 lives across Alabama as it moved throughout the Southeast. The storm caused flooding, tornados, deadly downed trees and chaos that led to destroyed homes. In Tuscaloosa, there were massive issues involving the distribution of water to part of the city.

3. The Alabama Education Association overplayed its hand

• Alabama Republican Party chairman John Wahl has put out a helpful reminder to Republican candidates across the state that it might not be the best idea to accept campaign donations from the Alabama Education Association (AEA).
• This is mostly due to how the AEA has attempted to flex its political influence in previous years, and particularly the 2021 legislative session where they attempted to delay the Literacy Act. Wahl also noted how there was previously a resolution to discourage Republican candidates from accepting AEA donations, and while “it’s not a direct ban … it was a strong recommendation to candidates.”

2. China and Russia could outpace the U.S. on defense spending

• U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) has stated his concerns with President Joe Biden’s plans to cut the spending for the Department of Defense in the fiscal year 2022 budget. Shelby explained that less than what’s recommended by the National Defense Strategy “jeopardizes readiness, the recapitalization of capital assets, and necessary investments in new and emerging technologies.”
• Shelby focused on Russia and China’s investments in their own militaries and how they’re “continuing to outpace U.S. investments,” adding he finds “it hard to believe that the requirements outlined by General Dunford just four years ago are no longer instructive.” The relationship between the United States, China and Russia has already been struggling, making this an even worse time to cut defense spending.

1. Unemployment continues to decline

• The Alabama Department of Labor announced that the May unemployment rates continued to fall and inch closer to pre-pandemic levels, sitting at 3.4% for May. In April, the unemployment rate was 3.6%.
• Before the coronavirus pandemic began, the unemployment rate was at only 2.6%. For the state’s current numbers, Alabaster has the lowest unemployment rate at 1.7%, while Selma has the highest at 7.0%.