Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Cavanaugh first to file in Governor’s race

By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter

The race to become Alabama’s 54th Governor will present a crowded field of candidates, but the first out-of-the-pack would appear to be the current President of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, who filed with the Secretary of State on March 1 of this year.

Cavanaugh, a conservative stalwart since the 1990s, will likely face a daunting array of male challengers in a State with only one female serving as a constitutional officer (Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey is the only woman holding a statewide office).

In a phone conversation with The Alabama Political Reporter, Cavanaugh said she was doing her due diligence as required by State law but was not ready to announce her candidacy at this time. Alabama State law does not have an option for a potential gubernatorial candidate to form an exploratory committee.

Depending on where Fortune’s Wheel lands for Gov. Bentley after the Ethics Commission’s meeting on April 5, Ivey could find herself as the 54th Governor of Alabama. She would be the only female to hold that post since Lurleen B. Wallace was elected the 46th Governor. She served for fifteen months, from January 1967 until her death in May 1968.

Over the last few months, statewide polling shows Chief Justice Roy Moore to be the leading contender with Cavanaugh following in second place. Moore regained his seat on the bench when elected again as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court (November 6, 2012) winning 51.8 percent of the vote over Robert S. Vance. He won the Republican primary on March 13, of that year, receiving 50 percent of the vote.

Moore’s suspension from the bench for the remainder of his term, stemming from an ethics complaint issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), has done nothing to tarnish his reputation among rank and file conservatives.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

While Cavanaugh trails Moore by a significant margin, she is edging out the other contenders by an even greater number.

The Goat Hill chattering class, believe others are soon to enter the fray. Agriculture and Industry Commissioner John McMillan, Secretary of State John Merrill, State Treasurer Young Boozer, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, and State Auditor Jim Zeigler.

For the moment, Cavanaugh is the only candidate to file officially with the Secretary of State.

 

Bill Britt is editor-in-chief at the Alabama Political Reporter and host of The Voice of Alabama Politics. You can email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.

More from APR

Congress

The bill appropriates more than $786 million for Alabama priorities, $232 million of which was secured by Britt.

Opinion

Alabama lost a humble, legendary genius on Christmas Eve. Willie Ruff is his name.

Elections

When Mike Matthews, an incumbent Republican candidate, was removed from the ballot due to a technical error, he cried foul.

State

Only Alaska collected fewer dollars per capita than Alabama over this review period.