Major party qualifying for this year’s state and federal races ended Friday and the updated candidate lists provided plenty to talk about.
John Wahl, with a freshly-posted Trump endorsement, filed on the last day to run for lieutenant governor, setting up what could be one of the more competitive GOP races.
Former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks wants to get back to his State House days and is challenging an incumbent Republican. Based on Rep. Jamie Lomax’s initial statement, he’s ready for a fight for the Huntsville seat.
A former lawmaker with a new controversy wants his old Senate seat back.
And Jim Zeigler once again qualified for a statewide office.
You can see the complete list of qualified Republicans and Democrats at the bottom of this story.
Wahl qualifies for lieutenant governor
Alabama Republican Party leader John Wahl, with a fresh surprise endorsement from President Donald Trump, qualified Friday as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
He joined the largest GOP field of candidates on the May 19 ballot, including Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen and Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate.
Wahl was not commenting Friday on his potential bid, but is expected to make an announcement on Monday.
In a statement Friday, Allen, who has led fundraising in the GOP contest in recent months, spoke on his own record and criticized Wahl, referring to him by the name on a Tennessee license he presented in a 2023 traffic stop.
“I am the only candidate in the race for Lt. Governor with a proven record of standing up against liberals and defending Alabama’s Christian conservative values while establishing the strictest voter integrity standards in the nation,” Allen said. “I have the endorsement of farmers, foresters, businesses – large and small – and the vast majority of Alabama’s Republican Caucus members. These endorsements represent hundreds of thousands of dedicated Republicans across the state.
“By entering this race, Nehemiah Wahl has, once again, betrayed his obligation to the Alabama Republican Party. Instead of living up to his duty to promote Republican values and the success of Republican candidates, he has chosen self-promotion that will undercut the campaigns of Republicans up and down the ballot. Democrats are fielding the strongest slate of candidates in recent history and the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party is giving them ammunition to attack every Republican candidate in the state.”
In a statement Friday, the ALGOP said Wahl stepped aside as chairman and Joan Reynolds, previously the party’s vice-chair, is filling the role.
“Joan Reynolds is one of the most effective leaders in the Alabama Republican Party and one of the most respected Republican grassroots organizers in the country,” ALGOP Chief of Staff Shannon Whitt said. “She knows the organization inside and out and has been a trusted part of our operations for years. The Party is in excellent hands.”
Other qualified Republican candidates for lieutenant governor are: Pat Bishop; George Childress; Dean Oden, Dr. Stewart Hill Tankersley and Nicole Jones Wadsworth.
Democrats Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, and Darryl D. Perryman qualified with their party.
Mo Brooks for Alabama House
Mo Brooks wants to get back into office. This time in the Alabama House of Representatives.
The former six-term Congressman from Huntsville qualified Friday to run in Alabama House District 20 against one-term incumbent James Lomax, R-Huntsville.
In a written statement to ADN, Brooks said he was encouraged late last year by several Republicans to seek the office.
Lomax had on hand about $99,000 in campaign contributions at the end of December and Brooks said he required before he’d run for his supporters to raise $100,000, none of it from special interest political action committees.
“I committed to them that, if they did that, I would run,” he said. “Quite frankly, I enjoy the family time retirement gives me. That family time enjoyment also encouraged me to set a very high bar that I really did not think these folks could clear in a very short period of time.
“But, (Thursday), to my utter surprise, they informed me they did it. They raised $100,000, all from Alabama citizens who want me to return to public service, none of it coming from Special Interest PACs!
“… I look forward to returning to the political battlefield and, once again, being a warrior for my family’s future and the state and people I love.”
Mo ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 and lost the GOP runoff to now Sen. Katie Britt after receiving and then losing President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Brooks spent a decade in the Alabama State House starting in 1982.
In a statement Friday, Lomax called Brooks an “anti-Trump blogger.”
“Mo Brooks is the very definition of a political opportunist who has spent over 40 years chasing public office for his own ego, not for the people of Alabama,” Lomax said.
“From his embarrassing failures as a defeated district attorney to his do-nothing stints in the Alabama House, Madison County Commission, and U.S. Congress, Brooks has proven time and again that he’s nothing more than an ineffective placeholder.
“He’s collected taxpayer-funded paychecks for longer than I’ve been alive, all while achieving nothing for hardworking Alabamians. Now, after an embarrassing crash out in Congress and turning into a bitter commentator for the liberal media, he’s crawling back to the same scam he’s peddled for the last four decades.”
Brooks has recently written some columns critical of the Republican Party for Al.com.
Zeigler challenges Beeker PSC
Five Republicans qualified for Public Service Commission Place 2, including incumbent Chris Beeker III and former Alabama Auditor Jim Zeigler.
Beeker was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey to the board in late 2024 to replace his father, who stepped down for health reasons.
Zeigler served a term on the PSC about 50 years ago. He’s most recently been the state’s two-term auditor. He ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state in 2022.
Republicans Priscilla Andrews and Brent Woodall also qualified, as did Democrat Sheila D. McNeil.
Beeker had $53,589 on hand at the end of December, according to his campaign finance reports.
Dial running for former Alabama Senate seat
Former state lawmaker Gerald Dial, a Republican from Lineville in east Alabama, qualified Friday for his former Senate seat.
Dial left the Legislature in 2018 and ran for state agriculture commissioner. Sen. Randy Price, R-Opelika, has held the seat the past two terms. He’s running for reelection.
Dial’s recently been part of a controversy involving the state’s Motor Sports Hall of Fame Commission, which he led for about 40 years.
Gov. Kay Ivey in November removed the entire board after a 35-issue state audit released in October.
Dial has said every issue found in the audit has a reasonable explanation. He previously told Inside Alabama Politics he’d had some polling done that was “really good” as he considers a bid for reelection.
“I’d run because there are several major issues on the state level that I’ve seen that need to be addressed and I don’t see them being addressed,” he said in November.