The Alabama State Capitol as seen on Nov. 24, 2025, in Montgomery, Alabama. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
A state-wide position with minimal power has drawn quite a crowd ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
Nine candidates are running for Alabama lieutenant governor. Seven of them are Republicans while two are Democrats. Republican Will Ainsworth, the current lieutenant governor, is term-limited.
The lieutenant governor becomes governor should the occupant of that office die, resign or be removed. The office once had powers comparable to that of the Alabama House speaker, with powers to control legislation and assign senators to committees.
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But the office was stripped of its power in 1999 after a lengthy standoff between then-Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, a Republican, and the Democratic-controlled Senate, which transferred most of Windom’s powers to the Senate President Pro Tem.
The role had its powers further decreased by the Senate during the 2026 regular session. Senate Resolution 108, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, allows Senate President Pro Tem to preside over the Senate if the lieutenant governor has not taken his or her seat five minutes after a meeting time.
The resolution also removes the lieutenant governor from a committee that assigns committee chairs, removes their power to appoint members to conference committees, gives the Pro Tem the power to recommit bills to committees and gives the Pro Tem and to direct the lieutenant governor to call up legislation carried over to the call of the chair.
The last Democrat to be elected lieutenant governor was former Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. in 2006.
Democratic voters in the state will choose between Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery and Darryl Perryman in next week’s primary.
Ensler said in an interview Friday that his priorities are affordability, healthcare and education and that he’ll work across the aisle and that he would encourage the public to contact senators to help his priorities make it to the Senate floor.
“(I would use) the role to communicate and share with the public those priorities and get the public more involved by letting them know that they can call on their senators, so they can come to the state house and be involved in the process,” he said.
Perryman said his priorities include expanding Medicaid, increasing the amount of affordable housing and helping save rural hospitals from closing and that he’d work with the Senate to make sure his priorities are addressed.
“I would love to try to influence my senators to bring forth the legislation to do that,” he said. “I would love to work with every senator, be you a Republican, Democrat, independent, or whoever, to serve those people.”
Republicans on the ballot include Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen; Patrick Bishop; George Childress; Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate; Dr. Stewart Tankersley; Nicole Jones Wadsworth and former Alabama Republican Party Chair John Wahl.
Pate said one of his priorities is to lower taxes through decreasing the state income tax and eliminating the grocery tax in the state that he’d use his “great relations in the Senate” and some of the power the position still holds to help advance them.
“You still have some power in the gavel as far as running the meeting, but I don’t think it’s a matter about force or by power, you can be persuasive by just how you deal with people and moving a certain agenda along,” he said.
Attempts to reach all other Republican candidates were unsuccessful. According to Wahl’s website, his priorities include supporting abortion restrictions, “protecting children from woke policies” and securing elections. Wahl has also touted his endorsement from President Donald Trump, which came the night before qualifying ended.
“Our children deserve innocence, not indoctrination,” Wahl’s website said. “He will oppose efforts to introduce gender confusion, racial division and sexualized content to our youth.”
Allen’s priorities are not shared on his website. Allen came under criticism for remarks earlier this yearcriticizing Wahl for attending an interfaith event with Muslims and saying “I want no part of Islam” in a statement.
Tankersley said on his website that he wants to implement a gas relief tax.
“Higher fuel prices make it more expensive to get to work, take kids to school, and run a small business,” the website said.
Childress and Wadsworth state on their respective websites that they will fight to expand rual healthcare initiatives such as telehealth. Bishop said on his website that he wants to expand Medicaid.
Because of the limited role the lieutenant governor has, it’s unclear if any candidates’ priorities will be addressed if they are elected.
Fundraising
According to campaign filings, as of Friday afternoon, Allen and Wahl have raised the most money at $1.6 million and $1.8 million respectively. Allen has spent $1.5 million and Wahl has spent $1.4 million.
The filings also show Bishop has raised $8,200 and spent $12,800; Pate has raised $472,500 and spent $531,200; Tankersley has raised $97,400 and spent $95,400 and Wadsworth has raised $190,700 and spent $231,500.
Childress has not filed any donations or expenditures as of Friday afternoon.
On the Democratic side, Ensler has raised $193,500 and spent just over $106,000 while Perryman has raised $150 and spent nearly $2,300.
Wes Allen
Residence: Troy
Occupation: Alabama Secretary of State
Education: Bachelor’s from The University of Alabama; Master’s from Troy University
Party: Republican
Offices held/offices sought: Pike County Probate Court 2009-2018; Alabama House of Representatives 2018-2022; Alabama Secretary of State, 2022-Present
Campaign fundraising: Raised $1.6 million and spent $1.5 million as of Friday afternoon.
Rick Pate
Age: 71
Residence: Lowndesboro
Occupation: Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
Education: B.S. Ornamental Horticulture from Auburn
Party: Republican
Offices held/offices sought: Mayor of Lowndesboro, 2008-2018; Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, 2018-Present
Campaign fundraising: Raised $472,500 and spent $531,200 as of Friday afternoon.
John Wahl
Age: 39
Residence: Athens
Occupation: Butterfly farmer
Education: Unknown
Party: Republican
Offices held/offices sought: Chair of Alabama Republican Party 2001-2026
Campaign fundraising: Raised $1.8 million and spent $1.4 million as of Friday afternoon.
Phillip Ensler
Age: 36Residence: MontgomeryOccupation: Alabama State House of Representatives, District 74 (2018-Present)Education: B.S. Political Science George Washington University; J.D. Cardozo School of LawParty: Democratic
Offices held/offices sought: Alabama State House of Representatives, 2022-present.Campaign fundraising: Raised over $193,500 and spent just over $106,000 as of Friday afternoon.
Darryl Perryman
Age: 61Residence: Grove HillOccupation: RetiredEducation: No degreesParty: Democratic
Offices held/offices sought: First-time candidateCampaign fundraising: Raised $150 spent $2,300 as of Friday afternoon.
Efforts to reach Patrick Bishop, George Childress, Dr. Stewart Tankersley and Nicole Jones Wadsworth were unsuccessful.
From Alabama Reflector Post Url: Visit
Author: Andrea Tinker