Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (July 17 Republican primary runoff)

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Alabama Lieutenant Governor
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 9, 2018
Primary: June 5, 2018 Primary runoff: July 17, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent(s): Vacant
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Alabama
Ballotpedia analysis
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State Rep. Will Ainsworth (R) was the winner of the July 17 Republican primary runoff. Ainsworth received 51.5 percent of the vote to Alabama Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh's (R) 48.5 percent.

State Rep. Will Ainsworth (R) and Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (R) were seeking the Republican nomination for Alabama's vacant lieutenant governor's seat. Political observers anticipated that the Republican Party would win the November general election, meaning that the winner of the Republican primary runoff was considered likely to be the state's next lieutenant governor. Ainsworth and Cavanaugh were the top finishers in the June 5 primary and advanced to a runoff since no candidate received a majority of votes cast. Cavanaugh received 43.3 percent of the vote to Ainsworth's 37.1 percent.

Both Cavanaugh and Ainsworth ran ads accusing each other of corruption and support for special interest groups. An Ainsworth campaign ad called Cavanaugh "another tax-loving lobbyist bureaucrat swamp politician Alabama can't afford" and charged her with supporting the largest tax increase in state history. A Cavanaugh ad questioned Ainsworth's dedication to fighting corruption, accusing Ainsworth of calling President Trump (R) a con man and saying that "Ainsworth sits around in the Capitol and he's taken over half a million dollars from special interests and he claims he's going to fight them?"

Cavanaugh, who was the Alabama Public Service Commission's president, described herself as "a mother, a born-again Christian, and a champion of conservative government" and highlighted her record of public service, arguing that she reduced expenditures while on the commission, which is responsible for overseeing the state's utilities.^[1] She was backed by former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) as well as national groups including Maggie's List and the Susan B. Anthony List. Cavanaugh's campaign website identifies her priorities if elected as limiting access to abortion, reducing regulations on firearms, and reducing spending.^[2]

Ainsworth, who was a member of the state House, pointed to his past experience both in and out of public service, referencing his time spent as a pastor and in business. Ainsworth touted his legislative record, arguing that he had "taken steps to give the epidemic of corruption affecting the Alabama Capitol Building and State House a strong dose of preventative medicine."^[3] Ainsworth's website promised economic growth, a reduction in corruption, and promotion of conservative values if he were elected.^[4] His endorsements include state Reps. David Sessions (R) and Jack Williams (R) as well as Sen. Marco Rubio (R).

The post was vacated by Kay Ivey (R) when she succeeded Robert Bentley (R) as governor in April 2017. The duties of the lieutenant governor of Alabama include serving as president of the state senate, where they have the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote, and appointing members to various state boards and commissions.^[5][6] In state history, two lieutenant governors have gone on to win election as governor.^[7] The winner of the runoff faced Lauderdale County Democratic Party Executive Committee Chairman Will Boyd (D) in the general election in November.

State Sen. Rusty Glover (R), who was defeated in the June 5 primary, did not issue an endorsement for the runoff.^[8]

For more information about lieutenant gubernatorial elections in 2018, click here.

Candidates and election results

Primary runoff

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Will Ainsworth	51.5	176,643
		Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh	48.5	166,432

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 343,075
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Primary

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh	43.3	238,991
✔		Will Ainsworth	37.1	205,017
		Rusty Glover	19.6	108,338

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 552,346
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Endorsements

Past elections

2014

See also: Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014

Kay Ivey ran for re-election as lieutenant governor of Alabama in the 2014 election. In the Republican primary, Ivey defeated Stan Cooke by a 23.4 percent margin.^[20]

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kay Ivey Incumbent	61.7%	257,588
Stan Cooke	38.3%	160,023
Total Votes		417,611
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State.

Campaign tactics and strategies

Campaign advertisements

Will Ainsworth

Support

Oppose

Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh

Support

Oppose

How the vacancy opened

See also: Robert Bentley ethics investigation, 2016-2017

The vacancy in the lieutenant governor's office was opened following the resignation of Gov. Robert Bentley.

The Alabama State Ethics Commission, the state House Judiciary Committee, and the Alabama attorney general's office investigated allegations that former Governor Robert Bentley (R) misused state funds in order to conduct an affair with one of his top advisors, Rebekah Mason. Bentley resigned from his position on April 10, 2017. Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey (R) was sworn in as his replacement.^[21]

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Alabama uses an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.^[22][23][24]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In Alabama polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time on the date of an election. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.^[25] According to state law, "[a]ll polling places in areas operating on eastern time shall open and close under this section pursuant to eastern time except the county commissions in Chambers County and Lee County may by resolution provide for any polling place to be excluded from this sentence and to be open according to central time."^[26]

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

Alabama requires that an applicant be a citizen of the United States who resides in Alabama. A voter must be at least 18 years old on or before Election Day. A citizen cannot have been barred from registering due to a felony conviction and cannot have been declared mentally incompetent by a court.^[27]

Voters cannot register during the 14-day period preceding an election. A citizen can register to vote at the following locations:^[27]

• License branches
• State or local government offices
• Public libraries
• Military recruiting stations
• County boards of registrars

Prospective voters may also mail in a registration form.

Automatic registration

Alabama does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Alabama has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Alabama does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Alabama, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

An Alabama state law, passed in 2011, calls for people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.^[28] However, as of August 2019, the law had not been implemented.^[29]

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said the following: "That’s an election administration nightmare ... You’d have to have two sets of poll books, one for federal elections and one for state elections, and that just doesn’t make any sense to me."^[30]

Verifying your registration

The site Alabama Votes, run by the Alabama Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Alabama requires voters to present photo identification at the polls. The following list of accepted forms of identification was current as of March 2023. Click here for the most current information, sourced directly from the Office of the Alabama Secretary of State.

A voter can obtain a free identification card from the Alabama Secretary of State, a county registrar's office, or a mobile location. The mobile location schedule can be accessed here.

A voter must provide a copy of his or her identification with both an application for an absentee ballot and the completed ballot itself, with the exception of 1) voters for whom polling locations are inaccessible due to age or disability, and 2) overseas military members.^[32][33]

Early voting

Absentee voting

A voter is eligible to vote absentee in an election if he or she cannot make it to the polls on Election Day for one of the following reasons:^[34]

• The voter will be absent from the county on Election Day.
• The voter is ill or has a disability that prevents a trip to the polling place.
• The voter is a registered voter living outside the county, such as a member of the armed forces, a voter employed outside the United States, a college student, or a spouse or child of such a person.
• The voter is an appointed election officer or poll watcher at a polling place other than his or her regular polling place.
• The voter works a required shift of 10 hours or more that coincides with polling hours.

The absentee ballot application must be received at least five days prior to the election in the above circumstances. In the following circumstances, the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. the day before the election:

• The voter is required by an employer under unforeseen circumstances to be out of the county on Election Day for an emergency business trip.
• The voter has a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician.
• The voter is a caregiver of a person who requires emergency treatment by a licensed physician within five days before an election.
• The voter has a family member to the second degree of kinship by affinity or consanguinity die within five days before an election.

The absentee ballot must then be returned either in person by close of business the day before the election or by mail. If returned by mail, the ballot must be postmarked no later than the day before the election and received by the election manager by noon on Election Day.^[34]

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Alabama heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2017 special election, one Republican and one Democrat each held a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.
• Republicans held 6 of 7 U.S. House seats in Alabama.

State executives

• As of August 2018, Republicans held 9 state executive positions. The other four positions were nonpartisan.
• The governor of Alabama was Republican Kay Ivey. The state held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of the Alabama State Legislature. They had a 72-32 majority in the state House and a 26-8 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Alabama was a Republican state government trifecta, meaning Republicans held the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.

2018 elections

See also: Alabama elections, 2018

Alabama held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• U.S. House
• Governor
• Other state executive
• State Senate
• State House
• Special state legislative
• State Supreme Court
• Intermediate appellate courts
• Local judges
• School boards
• Municipal government

Demographics

As of July 2016, Alabama's three largest cities were Birmingham (pop. est. 211,000), Montgomery (pop. est. 200,000), and Huntsville (pop. est. 195,000).^[35]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Alabama from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Alabama Secretary of States.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Alabama every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Alabama 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	62%	Hillary Clinton	34%	28%
2012	Mitt Romney	61%	Barack Obama	38%	23%
2008	John McCain	60%	Barack Obama	39%	21%
2004	George W. Bush	62%	John Kerry	37%	25%
2000	George W. Bush	56%	Al Gore	42%	14%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Alabama from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Alabama 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Richard Shelby	64%	Ron Crumpton	36%	28%
2014	Jeff Sessions	97%	No Democratic candidate	0%	97%
2010	Richard Shelby	65%	William Barnes	35%	30%
2008	Jeff Sessions	63%	Vivian Figures	37%	26%
2004	Richard Shelby	68%	Wayne Sowell	32.0%	36%
2002	Jeff Sessions	59%	Susan Parker	40.0%	19%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Alabama.

Election results (Governor), Alabama 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Robert Bentley	64%	Parker Griffith	36%	28%
2010	Robert Bentley	58%	Ron Sparks	42%	16
2006	Bob Riley	57%	Lucy Baxley	42%	15%
2002	Bob Riley	49%	Don Siegelman	49%	0%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Alabama 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	6	86%	1	14%	R+5
2014	6	86%	1	14%	R+5
2012	6	86%	1	14%	R+5
2010	6	86%	1	14%	R+5
2008	5	71%	2	29%	R+3
2006	5	71%	2	29%	R+3
2004	5	71%	2	29%	R+3
2002	5	71%	2	29%	R+3
2000	5	71%	2	29%	R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

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See also

Footnotes

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