MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A majority of Republican members of the Alabama House have endorsed Secretary of State Wes Allen in his bid for lieutenant governor as the 2026 election season kicks off.
“I am grateful for the endorsement of so many conservative Republicans in the Alabama House of Representatives,” Allen said in a statement on Monday.
Thirty-nine of the House’s current 73 GOP lawmakers gave their support to Allen.
“Hailing from all over the state, many of these legislators have worked alongside me as we fought to protect Alabama’s conservative values. These are people who know me and my work ethic and my commitment to the State of Alabama. To have them support me publicly is greatly appreciated.”
Allen was appointed as a probate judge in Pike County in 2009 under then-Gov. Bob Riley, a position he would hold until 2018 when he was elected to the Alabama House, representing District 89, currently represented by Rep. Marcus Paramore, R-Troy. Allen was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th secretary of state in January of 2023, and announced his run for lieutenant governor in February.
Current Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth is term limited, and cannot run for re-election. He was expected to announce a run for governor, however, announced in May that he wouldn’t be seeking the state’s highest office and would instead transition to the private sector.
Among Allen’s chief accomplishments as secretary of state has been reforming the state’s voter roll system, withdrawing from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a nonprofit-run national voter system, and implementing a proprietary voter roll system dubbed the Alabama Voter Integrity Database, or AVID.
Allen has competition in next year’s GOP primary, including Alabama Department of Agriculture Rick Pate and real estate developer Nicole Wadsworth.
View below for the list of Alabama House Republicans that have endorsed Allen for lieutenant governor:
- Russell Bedsole (Alabaster)
- Bryan Brinyark (Samantha)
- Chip Brown (Mobile)
- Mack Butler (Rainbow City)
- Jim Carns (Vestavia Hills)
- Brock Colvin (Albertville)
- Danny Crawford (Athens)
- Brett Easterbrook (Fruitdale)
- David Faulkner (Homewood)
- Matthew Hammett (Dozier)
- Jim Hill (Odenville)
- Reed Ingram (Mathews)
- Jamie Kiel (Russellville)
- Mike Kirkland (Scottsboro)
- Bill Lamb (Tuscaloosa)
- Paul Lee (Dothan)
- Craig Lipscomb (Fairhope)
- James Lomax (Huntsville)
- Rhett Marques (Enterprise)
- Arnold Mooney (Indian Springs)
- Parker Moore (Decatur)
- Ed Oliver (Dadeville)
- Rick Rehm (Dothan)
- Marcus Paramore (Troy)
- Phillip Rigsby (Huntsville)
- Chad Robertson (Heflin)
- Jeana Ross, J (Guntersville)
- Ginny Shaver (Leesburg)
- Mike Shaw (Hoover)
- Matt Simpson (Daphne)
- Ivan (Van) Smith, V (Clanton)
- Scott Stadthagen (Hartselle) *House Majority Leader
- Shane Stringer (Citronelle)
- Troy Stubbs (Wetumpka)
- Allen Treadaway (Morris)
- Kerry (Bubba) Underwood (Tuscumbia)
- Ritchie Whorton (Owens Cross Roads)
- Randy Wood, R (Anniston)
- Ernie Yarbrough (Trinity)