Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has raised $1.2 million in her bid for reelection, her campaign announced Thursday.

       The Republican incumbent's fundraising could deter challengers from either side of the aisle in the 2022 election. In a bit of saber-rattling, her campaign made the sizable figure known ahead of mandatory election filings.

       “The people of Alabama are energized and enthusiastic for 2022, and I could not be more grateful to them for their overwhelming support of my re-election campaign,” Ivey said in a statement.

       Ivey, 76, announced four weeks ago that she’s running for reelection. She made the announcement in a video message released by her campaign. The governor emphasized her administration’s investment in infrastructure; job creation, Alabama’s pandemic recovery and the state's low unemployment rate.

       Campaign finance records show that Ivey had a campaign balance of under $200,000 at the end of 2020. She has garnered a number of major contributions since announcing her bid for office.

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       Ivey is the state’s second female governor and the first Republican woman elected to the position.

       She had been lieutenant governor when she succeeded Gov. Robert Bentley in 2017.

       She won election to her first full term the next year, defeating first a field of primary challengers and then Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox in the general election.

       Ivey, who is two years younger than President Joe Biden faced indirect questions about her health during the 2018 race, but easily won her party’s nomination and then the general election.