Live Results: Republican Gov. Kay Ivey defeats Democrat Yolanda Flowers in Alabama's gubernatorial election

• Gov. Kay Ivey defeated Democrat Yolanda Flowers in Alabama's gubernatorial race.
• This is one of 36 gubernatorial elections taking place in 2022.

Republican incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey faces off against Democrat Yolanda Flowers in Alabama's gubernatorial election. Polls have closed.

Alabama's gubernatorial candidates

Ivey, first sworn into office in 2017, became he longest consecutive-serving governor in Alabama history.

Throughout her career, Ivey has held numerous positions in Alabama politics. Prior to being elected governor, she served several terms as lieutenant governor and state treasurer, becoming the first Republican to be elected state treasurer since Reconstruction and the first Republican woman to serve as lieutenant governor in Alabama's history.

Ivey is also one of 119 out of 170 candidates who've falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged to run in solidly Republican races.

Flowers, Ivey's challenger, is an educator with experience working in speech language pathology, rehabilitation and counseling.

She defeated Malika Sanders-Fortier in the Democratic primary runoff, 55.1% to 44.9%.

Alabama's voting history

Alabama backed President Donald Trump over Joe Biden in a near 26 percentage point margin of victory in 2020. The state has voted for the Republican candidate in the last 11 presidential elections, and since 2004, Republican nominees have won by over 20 percentage points.

What experts say

The race between Ivey and Flowers is rated as "solid Republican" by Inside Elections, "solid Republican" by The Cook Political Report, and "safe Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.