When Republican Gov. Bob Riley proposed a $1.2 billion tax increase in 2003, there were a number of Republican officials who went on the record saying that Riley could not win a nomination for a second term, much less get re-elected.
Three years later, Riley easily won the Republican primary and is poised to win a second term without having to break much of a sweat. Polling gives the incumbent a wide lead over challenger Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley. The most recent survey, a University of Alabama poll for the Birmingham News (September 5-7 of 500 likely voters) showed Riley ahead of Baxley by 21 points, 55 percent to 34 percent. Riley's favorable rating was 72 percent and his unfavorable rating was just 24 percent. Baxley's 53-percent favorable to 30-percent unfavorable ratings are more than acceptable, but Riley's are in the stratosphere.
Further, Riley has an enormous financial advantage. According to campaign finance reports filed at the end of September, Riley had raised $3.3 million since the June primary and had almost that much in the bank. Those figures did
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