Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey delivers her inaugural address during inauguration ceremonies at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. Voters on Tuesday chose party nominees, and narrowed their choices for two offices, for the 2026 midterm elections. (Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector)
Alabama primary voters chose their Republican and Democratic nominees for the state’s constitutional offices, and set up two Republican primary runoffs.
John Wahl, former Alabama Republican Party Chair, and Secretary of State Wes Allen advanced to a runoff for the party nomination for lieutenant governor. There were seven candidates running in the primary for an office that has little power. Wahl got the most votes at 192,432, about 40.6%, and Allen got 180,292, about 38%, according to unofficial results.
Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate, Nicole Jones Wadsworth, Patrick Bishop, Dr. Stewart Tankersley and George Childress split the remaining 101,762 votes cast.
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Wahl, who entered the race after getting an endorsement by President Donald Trump, thanked voters in a post on Facebook Wednesday.
“Coming in first place in the primary is the honor of a lifetime. I am ready to get back out in the runoff and continue fighting for freedom, liberty, and the American Dream,” he wrote.
Republican voters, and those who did not vote in the primary, can choose between Wahl and Allen on June 16. The winner will face Democratic nominee Rep. Phillip Ensler of Montgomery.
Ensler won the Democratic primary over Darryl Perryman with 57.6% of votes. In an acceptance speech Tuesday night, Ensler vowed unity if he is elected to the office.
“People are tired of the divisiveness, they’re tired of backwards policies, they’re tired of Alabama ranking last in so many categories,” Ensler said. “So we are running to fight the bad stuff, but stand up for good to make sure that we’re proposing things that are going to put more money in people’s pockets, that are going to keep hospitals open, that are going to have safer neighborhoods, and reduce gun violence, and that are going to make sure that we strengthen our public schools.”
Secretary of State
Caroleen Dobson, Republican nominee for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District in 2024, won the party’s nomination for Secretary of State, and will face Democratic nominee Wayne Rogers in November.
Dobson received 286,914 votes, about 65.5%, Christopher Horn received 99,108 votes, about 22.6% and Glenda Jackson got 52,177 votes, about 11.9%, according to unofficial results.
State Treasurer
Young Boozer, the current State Treasurer, won the Republican nomination with 396,295 votes, about 68%, over banker Steve Lolley, who got 143,864 votes, about 32%.
Boozer will face Democratic nominee Rosilyn Houston, a bank executive in Birmingham, in the general election in November.
State Auditor
Republican voters chose incumbent Andrew Sorrell for the party’s nominee for State Auditor over attorney Derek Chen by 35.8 percentage points.
Sorrell will face Democratic nominee and Madison County Commissioner Violet Edwards in the general election.
Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
In a race with three candidates, all got about 30% of votes cast. Corey Hill, mayor of Douglas in Marshall County, got 150,598 votes, about 35.2%, sending him to a runoff with Christina McInnis, a fifth-generation farmer in Baldwin County, who got 149,179, about 34.9%. Sen. Jack Williams, R-Wilmer, came in third place with 129,112, about 29.9%.
The winner of the June runoff will face Democratic nominee Ron Sparks in the general election. Sparks served as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries from 2003 to 2011 and was the Democratic party’s gubernatorial nominee in 2010.
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Author: Anna Barrett