February 11, 2026 - Two Groups Have Had an Accomplished Quadrennium
As the 2026 Legislative Session evolves, do not expect much in the form of substantive legislation. It is an election year and historically, legislators do not address any controversial legislation. The election primaries are right around the corner on May 19, and voters have short memories, but they can remember what just happened yesterday.
Although, my observation is that legislative seats have become analogous to U.S. Congressional Seats in that incumbents are very seldom challenged. In most of our 105 State Legislative and 35 State Senate Seats, the majority are held by incumbent Republicans and Democrats and less than 20 percent are being challenged.
However, the irrelevancy of this election year 2026 Session does not matter to two major groups who have had spectacular success in 2024 and 2025. The Association of County Commissions and the Alabama Education Association have had major legislative accomplishments this quadrennium.
The Alabama Association of County Commissions has been led by Executive Director Sonny Brasfield for the past 16 years. He has done a tremendous job. Prior to that, Sonny was the Chief Lieutenant for legendary Executive Director Buddy Sharpless, who was the director of the powerful organization for 35 years from 1974 to 2009.
To say that Sonny Brasfield has done a sterling job is an understatement. The presidency of the organization is elected each year by the membership of all county commissioners from throughout all 67 counties in the state. They have had severalespecially outstanding commissioners, who have been instrumental in securing passage of significant and important legislative accomplishments.
In 2023-2024, Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight was President. Knight set the stage for success and was successful.He spearheaded and was enabled by Sonny Brasfield in passage of major legislative initiatives for the county commissions.
In 2025 alone, county government priorities took aim at a broad range of issues from strengthening county involvement in mental health delivery services to improving professionalism and representation in the local voter registration process. In addition, the county leaders were involved with the statewide prohibition of Glock switches.
A bill passed by Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and Representative Alan Baker (R-Escambia) streamlines the sales tax exemption process. This act establishes a process by which county commissions may opt in to applying state sales and use tax exemptions to county sales and use taxes.
Speaking of sales tax, Alabama’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT) has been a salvation for the State General Fund, as well as for county governments. The SSUT Act allows Alabama to collect online sales tax. It is a nationally recognized model for online use tax collection that has provided the state and local governments nearly $4.5 billion in total revenue, including almost $1 billion in fiscal year 2025, alone. The Association of County Commissions has been steadfast in defending the SSUT.
The Alabama Education Association has been very successful over this quadrennium under the leadership of Amy Marlowe.The AEA has quietly achieved historic accomplishments that would parallel the years of “King” Dr. Paul Hubbert’s reign as the ruler of Goat Hill. There have been unparalleled pay increases for teachers.
However, if nothing else was accomplished, the passage of the historic K-14 Worker’s Compensation Bill was monumental.This accomplishment achieves what the legendary Dr. Hubbert only dreamed of decades ago.
Beginning no later than October 1, 2026, the new worker’s compensation law replaces the Board of Adjustment’s outdated system with a compensation program offering direct payment of medical bills through the Public Education Employees Health Insurance Program (PEEHIP).
This long overdue law covers full-time public education employees, including teachers, bus drivers, and lunchroom workers. Before its passage, public educators injured on the job had no access to worker’s compensation.
This worker’s compensation accomplishment was spearheaded and championed by Senator Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville). When Senator Givhan became aware that Alabama teachers had no relief for on-the-job injuries, Givhan made it his mission to remedy this wrong. It became a priority and was Senate Bill number one in 2025. He was assisted in the House of Representatives by Tuscaloosa Representative Cynthia Almond, who was appointed by Governor Ivey in 2025 to President of the Alabama Public Service Commission.
See you next week.
February 4, 2026 - Steve Clouse – A Good Man
My lifetime friend, Steve Clouse, turns 70 this week. He was born February 7, 1956. I hope his legislative colleagues and friends wish him a Happy Birthday. He truly is a good man.
Steve was born and raised in Ozark and has represented his home County of Dale as well as neighboring Houston County for 32 years – almost half of his life and well over 72% of his adult life. He was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1994 at age 38. He will be re-elected to his ninth, four-year term this year.
Steve Clouse is not only the Dean of the Wiregrass delegation in the House, he is the stalwart, respected leader and heart and soulof the Wiregrass delegation. Coincidentally, when Steve came to the House in 1994, he was the only Republican in the Wiregrass, House or Senate. Today, all Wiregrass Senators and House members are arch Republicans. The Wiregrass is one of the most Republican Regions of the State.
Steve is currently Chairman of the House Transportation Utilities and Infrastructure Committee. However, his most important leadership role was as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, where he wrote the General Fund Budget for over a decade.
Steve has always had a keen interest and knack for Alabama politics. He also has an astute marketing mind. When he first ran for the House, he coined the phrase, “Put Clouse in the House.” If he were to have an opponent, he could say, “Keep Clouse in the House.” He is truly a man of the House.
Steve is truly a man of Ozark, also. He is Ozark, through and through. His father, Jimmy Clouse, had deep roots in Dale County. Steve worked with his father in the oil distribution business until his Dad passed away a few years ago.
Steve has been a devout member of the First Methodist Church. He and his wife, Dianne, live right across the street from the Methodist Church. They don’t have far to go so it makes it hard for him to skip. He parks his white truck right out front of his antebellum style home, right on Main Street, which tells his constituents, “I’m at home, come see me with your problems.” Believe you me, small town legislators get more cries for help than you can imagine. Especially if you’re Steve Clouse, who knows most of his constituents personally. He has fixed many a Dale countian’s problems and potholes over the past four decades.
I often use the saying Alabama is a Big Front Porch. When it comes to me and Steve Clouse, that adage is definitely apropos.
I have never, not known Steve Clouse. We played together as little boys. Steve’s mama was Ruth Price. She grew up in Pike County. My mama, Gloria Grant Flowers and Ruth Price Clouse were like sisters all their lives. They were best friends as girls and teenagers and continued their friendship after Mrs. Ruth married Jimmy Clouse and moved to Ozark. Mama lived all her life in Troy. When Steve and I were little boys, our mamas would bring us to Troy and Ozark to play together. We became like brothers rather than friends. We are still more like brothers. I don’t think it is just a coincidence that we have the same first name. I also had a sister named Kay and he has a sister named Kay. We are pretty sure our mamas collaborated on that.
When it got time for Steve to go to college, he chose the University of Alabama where I was finishing up. He pledged the same fraternity that I and a good many Southeast Alabama boys were in, Sigma Nu.
Our legislative districts connected for the 16 years I was in the House. We had almost identical pro-business conservative voting records. People still, today, get us confused because we have similar names. He tells me that often in our almost weekly phone conversations. “Someone called me you the other day.” My response to him, “I’m sure you told them that you were a lot younger and better looking.”
Steve Clouse is one of the best men I’ve ever known. He epitomizes honesty and integrity. I cannot believe that my young friend and little brother is 70. Alabama is a Big Front Porch.
See you next week.
January 28, 2026 - Governor Ivey has Sterling Legacy for Appointments
Governor Kay Ivey will have been Governor for almost a decade when she leaves office in January of 2027. She will have been Governor longer than anyone in state history other than George Wallace. She is also the first woman elected Governor in her own right. In addition, she is the first female Republican Governor in history.
Governor Kay Ivey would go down in the annals at the State Archives as unique and accomplished for these reasons alone. However, she has been a very good Governor.
Her legacy in her cabinet and judicial appointments have been spectacular. The Governor has an enormously large number of important appointments. This power of the Governor is often overlooked and underestimated. Governor Ivey has shown stellar acumen and reason in her choices. In my estimation, this inherent power has become one of the most important achievements of Governor Ivey’s administration.
Over the past two years, she has made some outstanding and important appointments. The legislature created the cabinet position of Workforce Transformation. She selected the perfect and probably obvious choice to head this new department. State Senator Greg Reed of Jasper is one of the most profound leaders to come out of the Senate in the past few decades. He had risen to be the President Pro Tem of the Senate. She convinced him to leave his powerful Senate post to take charge of Workforce Development. He is doing a good job.
Kay Ivey convinced another popular and powerful legislator to leave the legislature and take a state position. She garnered Tuscaloosa State Representative Cynthia Lee Almond to take the job of President of the State Public Service Commission. This is a very important position, which Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh handled successfully for years. Twinkle left to head the USDA in the state for the Trump Administration.
The most profound and significant of Governor Ivey’s stellar appointments has been in the realm of her outstanding judicial appointments. First, she has had an amazing number of judicial appointments. Kay Ivey has appointed 42 District Court Judges, 33 Circuit Court Judges, 12 Probate Judges, one Judge to the Court of Criminal Appeals, two Judges to the Court of Civil Appeals, and five Justices to the Alabama Supreme Court.
One of her best judicial appointments was Judge Bill Lewis to the State Supreme Court. He served decades as the Circuit Judge for Elmore County. The governor appointed Lewis to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in February 2024, then to the Alabama Supreme Court last year. Shortly thereafter, our U.S. Senators plucked him from our State Supreme Court and appointed him as a federal judge.
Governor Ivey chose another successful and qualified judge to take the vacancy on the State Court of Civil Appeals. Covington County Circuit Judge Ben Bowden will move to that State Appellate Court. He is a veteran Circuit Judge, and prior to that was Covington County Probate Judge.
Governor Ivey has chosen outstanding, qualified people for local judicial positions throughout the state. Her choices have been reasonable and logical, and met with overwhelming approval, locally.
She appointed judges in Jefferson County, who are qualified and electable. In Democratic Montgomery County, she has appointed Tiffany McCord as a Circuit Judge. In addition, she chose Azzie Taylor Oliver as Montgomery County District Attorney. Governor Ivey made Scott Brewer the District Judge of Talladega County. She appointed Ashley Siebert as a District Judge in Baldwin County. She also appointed Laurie Hoyt to serve as a new Circuit Judge in Baldwin County. In Jackson County, she appointed Matthew Mitchell to a District Judgeship.Governor Ivey appointed Grace Jeter as a Circuit Judge in Covington County. Grace has been an assistant District Attorney for 20 years.
Her latest judicial appointment may be one of her best. She appointed her General Counsel, Will Parker, to the State Supreme Court in November 2025. Parker served as Governor Ivey’s General Counsel for six years. He did an excellent job in this role. Prior to his work with Governor Ivey, he served 10 years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Constitutional Division, which is perfect training for the Supreme Court.
Governor Kay Ivey has a legacy for appointments, especially judicial.
See you next week.
January 21, ,2026 - Healthcare Costs Are Major Concern as Legislators Craft the State Budgets
As the 2026 Legislative Session evolves, it is apparent that this year’s annual session will be short and sweet. That is par for the course in an election year session. This is election year and all 105 House Seats, and all 35 Senate Seats are up for election. Therefore, it is an inherent historical reality that nothing consequential or controversial is addressed in a quadrennium ending election year.
However, it is a constitutional requirement that the legislature enact a budget – in fact, both budgets. Indeed, Alabama has two state budgets. We have a Special Education Trust Fund Budget, which encompasses two-thirds of Alabama’s tax revenues, and of course, we have our General Fund Budget, which has one-third of all revenues. Even though crafting the state’s budgets is difficult and mundane work, it is the most important chore of a legislature.
Fortunately, Alabama has some outstanding and experienced leaders, who chair the Budget Committees, do yeoman’s work, and primarily write the budgets. The Chairmen of the Education Budget Committees are Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and Representative Danny Garrett (R-Trussville). The General Fund Budget Chairmen are Senator Greg Albritton (R-Escambia) and Representative Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville). They do an excellent job.
The larger Education Budget will be a much tougher task this year because of the rising cost of healthcare, thus health insurance. The teachers’ health insurance fund was founded by and is managed by Dr. David Bonner’s well run Teachers Retirement System. This Public Education Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) has provided health insurance coverage to Alabama’s education employees, retirees, and their dependents since its creation in 1983.
PEEHIP has kept their costs in line for nearly a decade without asking the legislature or members for more money. However, PEEHIP is facing a shortfall for fiscal year 2026, due to a significant decline in federal funding for educators and education retirees. It is a nationwide problem.
There are three main reasons for this national problem: cuts to federal funding for Medicare retirees, general inflation that is driving up the cost of everything, and higher utilization by current members and retirees. Folks are living longer, and those who are living longer expend a lot of healthcare dollars. State revenues probably will not be able to keep up with these rapidly rising costs. It will be a heavy lift for the legislature.
The cost of healthcare is not just an Alabama problem. It is a national problem and probably the paramount problem facing American consumers. The cost of health insurance has risen sharply for the third year in a row, reaching just under $27,000 for a family plan. That is a 6% increase from the year before and builds on two prior years of 7% gains.
These figures are confirmed by the most trusted and largest health insurance analyst KFF. The latest KFF survey suggests that half the U.S. population gets health coverage through a job.
Hospital prices have also grown significantly in recent years for numerous reasons. There is an alarming increase of cancer in the working-age population. Employers are also seeing increased outlays on new and costly therapies, particularly the popular drugs known as GLP-1s, a category that includes the weight loss treatments Wegovy and Zepbound.
A good many private companies are shifting the increased cost of health insurance onto workers in the form of out-of-pocketcharges such as deductibles and copayments. Legislators are struggling mightily with these problems as they craft the budgets.
This increased healthcare and health insurance cost will be a major issue in the upcoming midterm congressional elections. Millions of Americans who were covered under the Affordable Care Act have seen a significant increase in their health insurance premiums beginning this month. There will be political repercussions from voters come November. Who will be hurt politically remains to be seen but, generally, voters blame the party who is in the White House.
See you next week.
January 14, 2026 - Arthur Orr – Legislature’s Most Valuable Player
As this last legislative session of the quadrennium moves forward, these four years would have to be rated as an overwhelming success.
The only constitutional requirement that the Alabama Legislature has to adhere to in their three-and-a-half-monthannual session is to pass the state’s budgets.
They have seen an exponential increase in state income to be budgeted over the last four years. Last year’s Education Budget was $12.1 billion. The General Fund was $3.7 billion.
When the Republicans captured the legislature in 2021, which was last vestige of Democratic remains in the Heart of Dixie, they put an immediate and consequential mark on Alabama government.
Arguably, our State Constitution rests the most power of the triumvirate of constitutional powers in the Legislative Branch.
The logical reason is because the legislature controls the state purse strings. Thus, the adage “those who have the gold make the rules.” Additionally, most campaign contributions by all political action committees and special interest groups flow to legislative candidates, especially incumbents. Legislative contributions dwarf gubernatorial and judicial races.
When Republicans finally took control of the legislature in 2010, they put a conservative stamp on Alabama’s legislative process and budgeting. This continued diligence towards a conservative, fiscally prudent stewardship of Alabama tax dollars has been the hallmark of the super majority Republican legislature the past four years.
Prior to 2010, the Democrats in Alabama spent money just like the Democrats in Washington did. They spent like drunken sailors with no regard for budgets, fiscal restraint, nor adherence to Alabama’s constitutional mandate to have a balanced budget. The Democratic legislature of bygone years would often circumvent Alabama’s constitutional budget mandate, which then would result in proration.
To the contrary, the state has not been in proration in any year of the 15-year Republican majority reign, neither has there been a year when they did not save money in “rainy day” funds. The one constant in this sterling, stellar, prudent budgeting has been that State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) has been in charge.
Because the Education Budget comprises over two-thirds of Alabama’s income and budget, Senator Orr, as Chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee, deserves the award as the “most valuable player” for the quadrennium 2022-2026.
Senator Orr more than likely deserves it for the last quadrennium, 2018-2022, also. He has written the State’s Education Budget for the past 12 years. He first became Chairman of the Budget Committee in 2014. He also chaired the General Fund Finance and Taxation Committee for four years before that. He is, without question, the most valuable player in the legislature and many would argue, the most powerful player in state government.
Doing a job for 12 years provides wisdom to the process. Orr knows the Education Budget like nobody in state history. We have had some long-time Budget Chairmen in the past, but none have reached the pinnacle of success of Senator Arthur Orr.
Fortunately for Alabama, Senator Orr will be returning for another four-year term in the Senate, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will, again, be Chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Budget Committee for the next four years.
Arthur Orr is only 60 years old. He was born in Decatur in 1965. Orr was first elected to the Alabama State Senate in 2006; therefore, he has been Morgan County’s State Senator for 20 years. He has been Chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee for 12 of those years.
Arthur Orr is a sixth generation Alabamian. He graduated from Wake Forest University, and with honors from the University of Alabama School of Law. He has been successful in his law practice and is currently Executive Vice President of Finance for Cook’s Pest Control, a 2000 employee, national corporation based out of Decatur.
Arthur and his wife, the former Amy Bethshares of Decatur, have one son named Jack and a daughter, Anna.
Arthur Orr is an Alabama treasure.
See you next week.
January 7, 2026 - There Is a New King of Higher Education in Alabama
As the last legislative session of the quadrennium begins, the budgets are the priority, as always. The education funding dollars will not be flowing as prolifically as they have the past three years.
There will be some wrestling within the education community for dollars. This jockeying will be confounded even further because of an exponential jump in health insurance costs.
There will be a tug-of-war within the higher education community. The clear winner of that battle will be the Alabama Community College System, and rightfully so.
Our Alabama Community College System educates and prepares ALABAMA students for ALABAMA jobs. The ACCS has quietly become the engine and mainstay for job creation and workforce development in our state.
Therefore, the new king of Alabama higher education politics is the Alabama Community College System. Their budget affects 25 communities all over the state, both large and small. Over the last decade under the leadership of Chancellor Jimmy Baker, the ACCS has become a political giant. They have taken a rightful place at the table.
This locally driven power has been enhanced by the fact that Alabama, and the nation, have realized that technical and job-related education is the real impetus for a state’s growth and prosperity.
Local legislators understand protecting and enhancing their local community college is their most important job for their district. Their community college is many times the largest employer in their district. Even when it is not the largest employer in a district, the community college is responsible for training the workforce for the district’s largest employers. Legislators also know that 96% of their hometown kids are going to go to work in their hometowns. Most legislators want to vote first for their own district’s needs and prosperities. All politics is local.
The Community College System is poised to dominate public university funding for at least the next five years for another unique reason. Never in history has there been the perfect storm where every major legislative leader’s paramount priority will be their community college.
Senator Arthur Orr of Decatur is the Czar of Education dollars in Alabama. He has been Chairman of the Senate Education Finance Committee for the last 10 years and will probably be for the next five years at least. His primary interest is Calhoun Community College, which sits on the Decatur/Huntsville border, at the center of the state’s most growth prominent area. It, therefore, garners the interest and loyalty of the sizeable Decatur/Huntsville legislative delegation, which includes Representative Rex Reynolds of Huntsville, Chairman of the House Budget Committee. The enrollment of Calhoun Community College is already over 10,000 and will probably be 20,000 over the next five years.
Jeff State’s enrollment is at 10,000, also. It is probably as important to Orr’s counterpart, Representative Danny Garrett of Trussville, as UAB.
The most powerful legislator in the state is Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter of Rainsville. His primary interest are the two colleges in his area. His alma mater, the Northeast Alabama Community College, and Snead State in Boaz. These two colleges are his UAB. Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston of Scottsboro has the same interest as Ledbetter.
The President Pro Tem of the State Senate is Garlan Gudger of Cullman. His primary interest is protecting his college and major employer, Wallace Community College in Cullman County. Their School of Nursing is bolstering the growth and prosperity of the burgeoning Cullman Regional Medical Center.
Speaking of medical centers, Dothan has become the medical mecca for southeast Alabama, northwest Florida panhandle, and southwestern Georgia. Healthcare is the largest employer in Houston County. The entire Wiregrass delegation, all Republican, realize this and their one unifying factor is the growth and prosperity of Wallace Community College, which supplies most of the top-level nursing needs for that area of Alabama.
Bevill State in Walker County has been the focal point for job creation for that area for decades, and will be for generations to come. It is of utmost importance to the Walker County legislators.
Finally, Mobile is moving towards becoming a national leader in shipbuilding. The entire Mobile delegation recognizes that Bishop State will be the training ground for their workforce. It unites the Republicans and Democrats in the Mobile delegation. Neighboring Baldwin County is the fastest growing county in the state. It is a very prosperous county and has a 100% Republican delegation. This sizeable legislative delegation is very cognizant that their Coastal Community College is also the fastest growing college in the state. It is approaching 10,000 enrollment and most of these legislators’ constituents’ children are headed towards Coastal and will stay home after college.
Folks, when it comes to higher education funding, all politics is local, and the Community College System is poised to be the King of Goat Hill.
See you next week.
December 31, 2025 - We Lost Some Good Ones This Year
As is my custom for the past 21 years, my year end column illuminates Alabama political luminaries that passed away this year. We lost some good ones.
Former State Senator and Lt. Governor George McMillan passed away in Birmingham at 81. George was a vivacious, delightful gentleman, who never met a stranger. I never knew anyone who ever met George that did not like him. He began his meteoric political career at an early age. He was elected to the State Senate from Jefferson County in 1974 and was elected Lt. Governor in 1978. He lost a razor-thin election to George Wallace for Governor in 1982. Many predicted he would win that race and, if elected, would have given Alabama a “New South” Governor.
Former State Representative and ABC Administrator Mac Gipson passed away in July at 89. Mac represented Autauga and Elmore Counties for 16 years in the House of Representatives. He was appointed head of the Alabama Beverage Control Board by Governor Robert Bentley. He remained head of the ABC until his retirement at the end of 2022, having served under Governors Bentley and Kay Ivey. Gipson was the successful owner and founder of Gipson’s Tire stores in Prattville and Millbrook. Mac was a good man and a good legislative friend.
Another legislative friend, Ralph Burke, passed away in July. Ralph represented DeKalb County in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1983 to 1998. He was an educator by profession. Ralph was a graduate of Jacksonville State and was a lifetime advocate for his alma mater. He was only 65.
Another of my favorite legislative colleagues, William “Bill” Drinkard, passed away in July at 79 at his home in Springville. He served in both the House and Senate from Etowah and St. Clair Counties from 1978 to 1990. He had a diversified business career as a store owner, hospital administrator, and a real estate developer. Bill was a diligent and good legislator.
Julian McPhillips was a renowned lawyer, and loyal Democratic Party leader in Alabama for over four decades. He passed away in Montgomery in April at age 78. His family had a deep heritage in Alabama. His father was a legendary Episcopal priest. He was born in Birmingham in 1946, but raised in Cullman. He graduated from Princeton cum laude and was an all-Ivy League wrestler. He then graduated from Columbia Law School. Julian worked as a Wall Street lawyer from 1971 to 1975. He moved back to Alabama in 1975 and began working as Assistant to Attorney General Bill Baxley. He ran for Attorney General of Alabama in 1978, and ran second in a nine man field. He spent the rest of his life as a progressive lawyer and civic and civil rights leader in Montgomery.
Tom Walker was the Founder and President Emeritus of the American Village in Montevallo. Tom conceived the idea of the American Village in the 1980’s. His vision accomplished the establishment of one of Alabama’s treasures. American Village teaches American history and civics. He built an amazing 188-acre campus in Montevallo. The campus has served over three-quarters of a million students and draws thousands of public visitors each year. Tom was a good man. His quiet and humble demeanor will be missed. The American Village was his life and legacy. He passed away in September.
Former Jefferson County State Senator Bill Cabaniss passed away early in the year at 86 in Birmingham. He was a Republican before it was cool. He was born and raised in Mountain Brook and lived there all his life. He was a lifetime Republican and was considered one of the pioneers of the modern Republican Party in Alabama. After his tenure in the Alabama legislature, President George H.W. Bush, who was Cabaniss’ lifetime friend, made him ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Dr. Annette Shelby passed away in July in Tuscaloosa at the age of 86. Dr. Shelby was the wife of our iconic, retired U.S. Senator Richard Shelby. She was very accomplished in her own right. She was a renowned educator. She was a distinguished, tenured Professor of Business at Georgetown University, as well as the University of Alabama. She was an integral part of Senator Shelby’s career, and a good many of the magnificent buildingson most of Alabama’s university campuses bear both Richard and Annette Shelby’s names.
An Alabama political legend, Ann Bedsole, passed on December 1, at age 95 in Mobile. Bedsole was the first Republican female elected to the Alabama House of Representatives and later the first female elected to the Alabama State Senate. She was a fine lady and an outstanding legislator. Her word was as good as gold.
We lost some good ones in 2025.
See you next year.
December 24, 2025 - Kay Ivey is a Legacy Governor
Recently, I had several of Governor Kay Ivey’s closest friends and confidantes invite me to visit with them. Over lunch, they posed the question to me, “Do you think Governor Ivey has become a legacy governor?” My response was that she has been an outstanding governor, but I need to give some thought to the meaning of a “legacy” governor.
My perception over the years was that a legacy governor left an indelible, particular generational project that could be linked to their name for posterity. My memory of governors only goes back 60 years and there are only three or four who have left that specific mark.
Our larger-than-life political giant of a governor, James E. “Big Jim” Folsom, paved all the rural roads in the state, so that the small farmers who lived on dirt roads could get their produce they cultivated all year to the market. His creation of the Farm to Market Road Program gives him a legacy.
Big Jim’s son, Jim Folsom Jr., was governor for only three years, but he created a legacy as the Father of the Automotive Factory Boom in our state. His landing the Mercedes Plant forAlabama was the impetus for making us the second largest automobile manufacturing state in America. It is now one of the largest economic engines in our state.
Governor George Wallace has numerous legacies. He is the most profound political figure in Alabama history. He was elected governor four times and his wife, Lurleen, another. That record will never be matched. During those terms, he created a legacy in economic development and roads. Probably his greatest accomplishment was the creation of the Alabama Community College System, which has become the mainstay for job creation and workforce development in the last decade for our state.
Governor Fob James could be called a legacy governor. He was elected governor two times, and not consecutively. He has the unique distinction of being elected governor in 1978 as a Democrat and again in 1990 as a Republican. Fob has a legacy as governor of having the businessman’s insight to create a trust fund for the General Fund Budget. During his first term an abundance of oil reserves were discovered off Alabama’s Gulf Coast. The state sold the oil rights to these reserves for a good amount of money. Fob convinced the legislature to save and preserve the corpus of the oil money in a “rainy day” fund entitled the Heritage Trust Fund. It has been a salvation for the beleaguered General Fund for years.
After several weeks of contemplating the question of whether Kay Ivey is a legacy governor, my response is a resounding and enthusiastic yes. Kay Ivey, in my estimation, is the best governor I have seen in my years of following and writing about Alabama political history.
First, Governor Kay Ivey will have been governor for a decade when she leaves office in January 2027. She will have been governor longer than anyone in state history other than George Wallace. She is also the first female elected governor in her own right. In addition, she is the first female Republican governor in history.
Most legacy governors have created their places in historythrough roads, as is the case with Wallace and Big Jim. Therefore, Kay Ivey knew that roads were the economic engine that drives the growth of jobs and economic expansion. She took the bull by the horns early in her tenure and did a masterful job of corralling the votes in the legislature and stewarding the passage of a gasoline tax increase to maintain and sustain our state roads, bridges, and waterways in Alabama.
This legislation, entitled “Rebuild Alabama,” which passed in 2019, has generated over $1 billion in revenue, paving the way for 500 new road and bridge projects reaching all 67 counties. This long overdue generational improvement of our state’s aging roads, bridge system, and state docks is a legacy in itself.
This infrastructure program has led to another Kay Ivey legacy in economic development. Governor Ivey’s administration has spearheaded a record breaking $55 billion in new capital investment and the creation of over 93,000 jobs during her tenure as governor. Furthermore, Governor Ivey’s appointments have been sterling and judicious, especially her judicial appointments.
The most important thing that can be said about Kay Ivey’s decade as Governor is that she has been a steady “Captain” of the Ship of State. She has brought stability, honesty and integrity to Alabama government. She is solid as a rock. Maybe she should be referred to as “Captain Ivey,” rather than “Meemaw.”
Kay Ivey is a legacy governor.
See you next week.
December 17, 2025 - Do Endorsements Matter in Statewide Races
In bygone years in politics, at least in Alabama politics, when you were a young, aspiring, learning politician, the old veterans would instill traditional rules and truisms that you should understand and adhere to.
One was “all politics is local.” If you were elected to be a state or national legislator, you looked after homefolks and listened to and reacted to local needs and concerns.
The second was that you do not get involved with other races. You definitely do not openly support or endorse any other candidate. You “stick to your own knitting.” The reasoning behind this no endorse maxim was first, politics is such a two-faced arena that your endorsee would not appreciate it in the long term and would eventually stab you in the back and you have made the person you endorsed opponent’s family, friends, and supporters, enemies for life. Thus, the saying if you endorse someone you make one ingrate and a thousand other enemies.
Secondly, it is the height of arrogance to assume that you are so popular that you can transfer your so-called popularity to someone else. In past times, the Alabama electorate would say to an arrogant, currently popular politico who would get full of himself and endorse someone in another race, “you are getting pretty full of yourself. We elected you to your own office. You need to be thankful for what you got and stick to your own knitting. We will decide for ourselves who we will vote for in other races.”
This rule was steadfast and strictly upheld by voters, especially in Alabama. Folks would vote against the endorsed candidate just for spite and hold it against the endorsee. It would also come back to bite the endorsee in later races.
George Wallace, in the height of his popularity, would endorse another candidate and invariably they would lose. In fact, he was 0-10 and a lot of those tens were supposed to win. The Wallace endorsement was the “kiss of death.”
Today’s political world has changed. In Alabama, the endorsement of Donald J. Trump is the golden key to election in the Heart of Dixie, and all politics is no longer all local. It is all national, driven by national unrelenting partisan allegiance derived from and driven by national issues.
The question today is, do group or organizational endorsements matter? The answer is yes and no. Endorsements matter more in down ballot races, especially legislative races. Special Interest groups are more interested in the legislative races because the legislature has the power and makes the major decisions that most affect the powerful Special Interest agenda.
Since we are a conservative Republican state when it comes to statewide and legislative races, the conservative pro-business groups and their PACs are the most important endorsements.The most important by far is the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA). This endorsement is ardently sought by all statewide candidates. ALFA is the Blue Ribbon of conservatism. Their endorsed ballot goes out to over 300,000 Alabamians including nearly 100,000 farmers and farm-related participants, as well as their insurance policyholders. They also provide campaign and PAC support. The other important groups are the Alabama Forestry Association, the Business Council of Alabama, and Manufacture Alabama.
There are four races where all four of these groups have endorsed in and are supporting. Senator “Coach” Tommy Tuberville has garnered all four in his cakewalk to Governor.Young Boozer has received all four in his uncontested race for re-election as State Treasurer. Caroleene Dobson has won all four ALFA, BCA, Forestry and Manufacturing in her race for Secretary of State. Twenty-eight-year-old political newcomer, Derek Chen, has won all four ALFA, Forestry, Manufacture Alabama, and BCA in his bid for State Auditor. He won ALFA overwhelmingly and became the darling of the farmers throughout the state.
The three tightly contested, statewide races will be and have already been affected by the ALFA endorsement. In the Lt. Governor’s race, current Secretary of State Wes Allen won the ALFA endorsement and the endorsements of several other business groups.
In the Agriculture Commissioner race, Corey Hill’s receiving of the ALFA endorsement made him a serious contender in a close three-person race. Hill will be facing better financed Baldwin and Mobile candidates, Christina Woerner McInnis and Jack Williams. Senator Williams has received the Forestry endorsement, as well as Manufacture Alabama and Business Council of Alabama.
Katherine Robertson’s garnering of the ALFA endorsement in the Attorney General’s race has made her a viable candidate against front runner Jay Mitchell. Judge Mitchell has been endorsed by the BCA and most business groups in the state.
Do endorsements count? We will soon see.
See you next week.
December 10, 2025 - Our Open U.S. Senate Seat Contest Will Be Our Marque 2026 Race
Coach Tommy Tuberville’s decision to leave his safe U.S. Senate Seat to run for Governor in the upcoming 2026 election cycle has shifted all the excitement and attention away from the Governor’s race and turned the focus towards who will be his replacement for the open Senate Seat.
Our May 19, 2026, Republican Primary is tantamount to election. Therefore, the Senate race, which will be our marque 2026 event, is essentially right around the corner. The candidateswill officially qualify in January, and we will see a four-monthsprint to the finish line.
The two apparent front runners are two-term Attorney General Steve Marshall, and First District Congressman Barry Moore. They both are bona fide, right-wing Conservatives. They will both try to outright the other. That will be a difficult maneuver as both of them have impeccable, indisputable, ultra conservative credentials. Both of them have spent their entire time in office striving to convince voters that they are to the right of Atilla the Hun. They have neither made any pretense of trying to be an effective Prosecutor or Congressman, but instead made every effort to “bark at the moon.”
If elected, the first thing either Moore or Marshall will do at the beginning of the 2027 Congressional Session will be to find a FOX camera to get in front of and espouse right-wing views andstrive to mark themselves as the most right-wing extremist in the U.S. Senate. In short, it really does not matter which of thesetwo right-wing, ineffective idealogues, Moore or Marshall, wins the May Republican Primary. It will be Twiddledee or Twiddledum.
The deciding factor in this race, as it is in every open U.S. Senate race, is money. Whoever raises and spends the most money will win. Money equates into name identification and name identification equates into votes. Neither Marshall nor Moore have great initial name ID. Marshall has about 27% and Moore has about 12%. Neither have personal wealth, therefore, they both must rely on fundraising.
Marshall is showing a weakness in this area. His early efforts to raise money have been underwhelming. Moore has even taken an early lead in raising money. This trend will continue to an even greater extent. Barry Moore is the boy of the clandestine right-wing, “Daddy Warbucks,” dark money, “Club for Growth.” They will finance Moore to the tune of $10 million or more. Moore and “The Club” will probably outspend Marshall by two to one.
They both will have high priced, experienced D.C. consultants and media gurus, who insist on going negative. Moore and Marshall, through these hired guns, will attack each other with a vengeance. By the time these gurus get through attacking their perceived opposition, most Alabama voters will probably think that both Steve Marshall and Barry Moore shot their mamas in a bar fight. When this happens, voters tend to look for a third person to vote for.
Well folks, there is developing under the radar, three promising potential candidates who are vying for that third-place position that could potentially come in second. These three unknown candidates are Jared Hudson, Morgan Murphy, and Rodney Walker.
Jared Hudson got into the race early. He knows very little about politics or government. He has some name identification in Jefferson County. He is very conservative and very religious. He is a decorated Navy Seal. He has movie star good looks, as does his wife and family. If someone gave him $10 million, he would sell.
Morgan Murphy is a Jefferson County native, a bootstrap Navy Captain, veteran diplomat, and advisor to Senator Tommy Tuberville and President Donald Trump. He is currently working in the Trump Administration. He would know how to be a U.S. Senator on day one.
The sleeper in this race may be Clay County businessman Rodney Walker. Why? Because he has personal wealth. Money is the mother’s milk of politics. Money buys name identification, and name identification equates into votes. His wealth allows him to campaign full time, a luxury Murphy and Hudson do not have. Rodney Walker and his wife, Stacie, are crisscrossing the state with a determined positive campaign.
It will be a good race. The marque event of 2026.
See you next week.