2018 Alabama elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Alabama on November 6, 2018. All Alabama executive officers were up for election along with all of Alabama's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections took place on June 5, 2018 for both major parties.^[1]

2018 Alabama elections

← 2016 2020 →

Governor

Main article: 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican governor Kay Ivey, who assumed the office upon the resignation of Robert J. Bentley in April 2017, ran for a full term against Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and independent write-in Chad Chig Martin. Ivey won with 59% of the vote.^[2]

Lieutenant governor

2018 Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2014 2022 →

Nominee Will Ainsworth Will Boyd Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,044,941 660,013 Percentage 61.2% 38.6%

County results Congressional district results Ainsworth:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Boyd:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Lieutenant Governor before election Vacant Elected Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth Republican

The office of lieutenant governor was vacant prior to the election.

State House Representative Will Ainsworth, State Senator Rusty Glover, and Public Service Commission President Twinkle Cavanaugh^[3] were running for the Republican nomination.^[4][5][6][7] Dr. Will Boyd from Florence ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Democratic primary

• Will Boyd, pastor and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2017^[8]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Will Boyd	—	Uncontested
Total votes			—	—

Republican primary

• Will Ainsworth, state representative^[7]
• Twinkle Cavanaugh, president of the Public Service Commission^[3]
• Rusty Glover, state senator^[4]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Twinkle Cavanaugh	238,333	43.27
	Republican	Will Ainsworth	204,465	37.12
	Republican	Rusty Glover	107,981	19.61
Total votes			550,779	100

Runoff results

Republican primary runoff results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Ainsworth	176,680	51.49
	Republican	Twinkle Cavanaugh	166,475	48.51
Total votes			343,155	100

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Will Ainsworth (R)	Will Boyd (D)	Undecided
Cygnal (R)[11]	July 24–25, 2018	1,027	± 3.1%	53%	41%	6%

Results

2018 Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Ainsworth	1,044,941	61.25
	Democratic	Will Boyd	660,013	38.69
	n/a	Write-ins	1,023	0.06
Total votes			1,705,977	100
	Republican hold

Attorney general

Main article: 2018 Alabama Attorney General election

Incumbent Republican attorney general Steve Marshall was appointed to the office by Governor Robert J. Bentley in February 2017. He ran for a full term against Joseph Siegelman, the son of former governor Don Siegelman. Marshall won with 58.8% of the vote.

2018 Alabama Attorney General election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Marshall (incumbent)	1,004,438	58.79
	Democratic	Joseph Siegelman	702,858	41.14
	n/a	Write-ins	1,141	0.07
Total votes			1,708,437	100
	Republican hold

Secretary of state

2018 Alabama Secretary of State election

← 2014 2022 →

Nominee John Merrill Heather Milam Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,032,425 658,537 Percentage 61.0% 38.9%

County results Merrill:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90 Milam:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Secretary of State before election John Merrill Republican Elected Secretary of State John Merrill Republican

Incumbent Republican secretary of state John Merrill ran for re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary

• Lula Albert
• Heather Milam

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Heather Milam	160,738	63.67
	Democratic	Lula Albert	91,736	36.33
Total votes			252,474	100

Republican primary

• Michael Johnson
• John Merrill, incumbent

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Merrill (incumbent)	334,922	71.64
	Republican	Michael Johnson	132,601	27.84
Total votes			467,523	100

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Merrill (R)	Heather Milam (D)	Undecided
Cygnal (R)[11]	July 24–25, 2018	1,027	± 3.1%	57%	38%	5%

Results

Governing magazine projected the race as "safe Republican".^[14]

2018 Alabama Secretary of State election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Merrill (incumbent)	1,032,425	61.02
	Democratic	Heather Milam	658,537	38.92
	n/a	Write-ins	1,064	0.06
Total votes			1,692,026	100
	Republican hold

State auditor

Incumbent Republican state auditor Jim Zeigler ran for re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary

• Miranda Joseph^[8]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Miranda Joseph	—	Uncontested
Total votes			—	—

Republican primary

• Stan Cooke
• Elliott Lipinsky
• Jim Zeigler, incumbent

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Zeigler (incumbent)	261,418	55.62
	Republican	Stan Cooke	153,160	32.59
	Republican	Elliott Lipinsky	55,437	11.79
Total votes			470,015	100

General election

Results

Results by county

Zeigler:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Joseph:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

2018 Alabama State Auditor election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Zeigler (incumbent)	1,018,466	60.43
	Democratic	Miranda Joseph	665,679	39.49
	n/a	Write-ins	1,362	0.08
Total votes			1,685,507	100
	Republican hold

State treasurer

Incumbent Republican state treasurer Young Boozer was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term.

Democratic primary

No Democratic candidates filed to run in the primary.

Republican primary

• David Black
• Stephen Evans
• John McMillan, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John McMillan	273,374	61.18
	Republican	David Black	95,454	21.36
	Republican	Stephen Evans	78,010	17.46
Total votes			446,838	100

General election

Results

Results by county

McMillan:

•   90–100%

2018 Alabama State Treasurer election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John McMillan	1,085,054	97.14
	n/a	Write-ins	31,968	2.86
Total votes			1,117,022	100
	Republican hold

Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries

Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term. The Republican candidates were Lowndesboro Mayor and Lowndes County GOP chairman Rick Pate, former FBI field intelligence supervisor T. O. (Tracy) Crane, State Senator Gerald Dial, and Cecil Murphy.

Democratic primary

No Democratic candidates filed to run in the primary.

Republican primary

• Tracy Crane, former FBI field intelligence supervisor^[15]
• Gerald Dial, state senator
• Cecil Murphy
• Rick Pate, Lowndesboro Mayor and Lowndes County GOP chairman

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Pate	181,098	40.37
	Republican	Gerald Dial	134,511	29.98
	Republican	Cecil Murphy	77,154	17.20
	Republican	Tracy Crane	55,838	12.45
Total votes			448,601	100

Runoff results

Republican primary runoff results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Pate	176,519	56.70
	Republican	Gerald Dial	134,799	43.30
Total votes			311,318	100

General election

Results

Results by county

Pate:

•   90–100%

2018 Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Pate	1,081,431	97.19
	n/a	Write-ins	31,312	2.81
Total votes			1,112,743	100
	Republican hold

Public Service Commission

The two associate commissioner seats on the Alabama Public Service Commission were up for election. Incumbent Republican commissioners Jeremy Oden, who was appointed to the commission by Governor Bentley in December 2012, and Chip Beeker, who was first elected in 2014, were both eligible to run for re-election.

Place 1

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Cara McClure^[8]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cara McClure	—	Uncontested
Total votes			—	—

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Bonner
• Jeremy Oden, incumbent

Results

Republican primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremy Oden (incumbent)	215,540	50.34
	Republican	Jim Bonner	212,646	49.66
Total votes			428,186	100

General election

Results

Results by county

Oden:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

McClure:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

2018 Alabama Public Service Commissioner election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremy Oden (incumbent)	1,013,072	60.42
	Democratic	Cara McClure	662,581	39.52
	n/a	Write-ins	940	0.06
Total votes			1,676,593	100
	Republican hold

Place 2

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kari Powell^[8]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kari Powell	—	Uncontested
Total votes			—	—

Republican primary

Candidates

• Chip Beeker, incumbent
• Robin Litaker

Results

Republican primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chip Beeker (incumbent)	275,184	68.74
	Republican	Robin Litaker	125,145	31.26
Total votes			400,329	100

General election

Results

Results by county

Beeker:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Powell:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

2018 Alabama Public Service Commissioner election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chip Beeker (incumbent)	1,006,713	60.05
	Democratic	Kari Powell	668,620	39.89
	n/a	Write-ins	1,029	0.06
Total votes			1,676,362	100
	Republican hold

Alabama State Legislature

Main articles: 2018 Alabama House of Representatives election and 2018 Alabama Senate election

Every member of the Alabama state legislature was up for election in 2018. Both state senators and state representatives serve four-year terms in Alabama. After the 2014 elections, Republicans maintained control of both chambers. In 2018, all 35 Alabama Senate seats and all 105 Alabama House of Representatives seats were up for election. These seats would not be contested in a regularly-scheduled election again until 2022.

The outcome of this election could affect partisan balance during post-2020 census redistricting.^[16]

Senate

Republicans won 27 seats, while Democrats won eight. The Republican Party gained one seat, the 29th, which was held by an retiring independent who caucused with the Republicans.

House of Representatives

Republicans won 77 seats, while Democrats won 28. The Republican Party gained five seats.

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama

All of Alabama's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. Six Republicans and one Democrat were re-elected. No districts changed partisan control.

Ballot measures

Amendment 1

Amendment 1^[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,094,677	71.65
No	433,133	28.35
Total votes	1,527,810	100.00

Amendment 1 results by county

Yes:

•   90–100%
•   80–90%
•   70–80%
•   60–70%
•   50–60%

No:

•   50–60%

Amendment 2

This is an approved legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Alabama that appeared on the ballot on November 6, 2018. The amendment was on abortion.

Amendment 2

(a) This state acknowledges, declares, and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life. (b) This state further acknowledges, declares, and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child in all manners and measures lawful and appropriate. (c) Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 916,061 59.01% No 636,438 40.99% Valid votes 1,552,499 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 1,552,499 100.00%
County results Congressional district results Yes   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% No   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%
Source: Alabama Secretary of State[12]

Amendment 3

Amendment 3^[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	835,707	60.30
No	550,299	39.70
Total votes	1,386,006	100.00

Amendment 3 results by county

Yes:

•   70–80%
•   60–70%
•   50–60%

No:

•   50–60%

Amendment 4

Amendment 4^[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	973,951	66.13
No	498,918	33.87
Total votes	1,472,869	100.00

Amendment 4 results by county

Yes:

•   70–80%
•   60–70%
•   50–60%

No:

•   50–60%