By Chip Brownlee
Alabama Political Reporter
Public Service Commission President Twinkle Cavanaugh, a Republican candidate for governor, is preparing to switch her candidacy to the lieutenant governor’s race.
After serving as the president of the Public Service Commission — the state commission that regulates utilities — Cavanaugh announced in March that she would run for governor.
Cavanaugh is expected to make the switch public Thursday, announcing it on Baron Coleman’s politics radio show, which goes on air at 11 a.m.
Cavanaugh had been a competitive fundraiser in the race. She has raised more than $111,000 dollars in cash contributions and added another $500,000 to her war chest with loans from herself and her husband. She will have significantly more cash on hand than others in the race.
During her time regulating utilities in Alabama, Cavanaugh was a fierce opponent to the federal government’s tightening of restrictions on coal-fired power plants.
Sources close to her campaign said she felt she could make a better impact in the lieutenant governor’s office. And she doesn’t want to run against Gov. Kay Ivey, who is expected to soon announce she will be running for re-election.
“At this time, I believe that I can best serve the people of Alabama not by running against Governor Ivey but by working with her to help enact real conservative reform as the Lieutenant Governor,” Cavanaugh said. “Brighter days are ahead, but we must push forward with strong, conservative leadership.”
Several other candidates on the Republican side could pull out of the race when that happens.
