21-05-2025
Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth not running for governor in 2026
Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth speaks to a senator in the Alabama Senate on May 7, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Ainsworth announced Wednesday he will not be running for Alabama governor in 2026. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth will not run for governor next year.
In a social media post Wednesday morning, Ainsworth said the decision came after prayers and discussions with his family.
'Kendall and I have decided that focusing on our children during their last years in high school and transitioning to the private sector makes the most sense for all of us at this time in our lives,' he wrote.
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Ainsworth, who is term-limited in his current office, said he would campaign for GOP candidates next year.
'I will be on the campaign trail working alongside President Trump to help elect a strong, conservative governor and other Republican elected officials who will keep Alabama moving in the right direction,' he wrote.
Though the lieutenant governor's office is relatively powerless, Ainsworth had managed to raise large sums of money over the years from the Big Mules on Goat Hill, taking in $4.8 million between 2017 and today.
According to campaign finance records, Progress PAC, the fundraising arm of the Business Council of Alabama, gave Ainsworth over $170,000 from 2017 to 2022. Alabama Forestry PAC gave Ainsworth just over $186,000 during that time; Alabama Power's Employee PAC had given him $152,000. The Alabama Builders Association gave him $150,000.
Ainsworth had $1.3 million in his campaign account at the end of January, according to campaign finance records.
Ainsworth, 44, was first elected as lieutenant governor in 2018 after serving in the Alabama House of Representatives and re-elected in 2022. His term is set to end on Jan. 18, 2027. The Guntersville resident served one term in the Alabama House before becoming lieutenant governor.
Gov. Kay Ivey, who has served in the office since 2017, is term-limited.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has expressed interest in running for the governor's office.
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