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On Tuesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall officially announced that he would not be mounting a run for governor in 2026.
Marshall told the Associated Press that he is “definitely not running for governor” as he and his wife had decided over Thanksgiving that it “just didn’t seem to be a good next step for us.”
Currently in his second full term as attorney general, following a lengthy stint as a district attorney in Marshall County, Marshall is unable to run for a third term under the Alabama state constitution. Despite opting not to run for governor in the 2026 election, and being unable to run for AG again, he told the AP that he remains interested in politics and the Marshall family will “see what plays out.”
Marshall also said that he plans to remain Alabama’s Attorney General for the full remainder of his term, despite some initial talks with the incoming Trump administration about possible federal appointments.
The attorney general had been on the shortlist of potential serious contenders to replace current Governor Kay Ivey. Ivey is also constitutionally barred from running for re-election, leaving the Republican primary open. And in a red state like Alabama, the Republican primary remains almost certain to determine the state’s next governor.
The other prominent names in the ongoing shadow primary are Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth and state AG Commissioner Rick Pate.
Kent Davis, the former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs, has also expressed interest in running for governor. Davis was fired by Ivey, but said in a November interview with APR that he felt it was “retaliation for the ethics complaint” he filed and would be pursuing legal action.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is also occasionally floated as a potential candidate given his high name recognition and statewide office, but he has repeatedly promised to serve as a “sledgehammer” for President-elect Trump in the Senate.
None of the remaining potential candidates have officially announced their candidacy yet. However, Ainsworth told AL.com in August that he would likely make a decision about running in February or March and would “either run for governor or go back to the private sector.”
Pate similarly told the Alabama Daily News that he’ll discuss running for governor with his wife early in 2025. Like Marshall, both Pate and Ainsworth are term-limited and cannot run for re-election for their current positions.
While the Republican primary won’t be held until May 26, 2026, voters should expect the currently empty field to fill quickly.
