Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman will hold an organizational campaign kickoff rally in his new race for governor on Sunday, March 5, from 2-4 p.m. at the old organized living location at the Summit off Highway 280 in Birmingham.

Siegelman's trial on conspiracy charges for allegedly taking bribes from deposed HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy is scheduled to start May 1 and take most of the month, while the Democratic Party primary vote will take place on June 6.

Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley is Siegelman's main challenger.

In spite of the trial hampering his campaign and ability to raise money, many Alabama Democrats still support Siegelman, according to interviews and public opinion polls.

It will be interesting to see how many people show up and what Siegelman has to say at the rally. We'll have an original report tonight, well before the newspapers have the story on Monday morning - if they bother to cover it at all.

Perusing the newspaper coverage of the race so far, it looks like the corporate chain newspapers in Alabama have already made up their collective minds to support Gov. Bob Riley for reelection. Riley will face ousted Alabama Supreme Court Judge Roy Moore in the Republican Primary.