Deficits in States Have Alabama's Governor Risking Career

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley speaks to the Associated Press during an interview about the stat budget, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, in Montgomery, Ala.

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Governor Robert Bentley is taking on fellow Republicans as he seeks to mend a $700 million hole in Alabama’s frayed $1.8 billion general fund with a tax increase.

The state party is urging lawmakers to defy him. Republicans distanced themselves in speeches and newspaper columns. One state senator who’s a former U.S. Marine paid for a billboard in Huntsville.