Alabama, Governor - Power Voter

Alabama held an election for governor on November 6, 2018. The primary election was on June 5, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was February 9, 2018.

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the election, the sitting governor was Kay Ivey (R), who took office on April 10, 2017, following the resignation of former governor Robert Bentley. Ivey announced she would seek a full term in 2018 on September 7, 2017.
Heading into the election, Alabama was a Republican trifecta. It had been under this status since 2011, when Republicans gained majorities in the state Senate and state House. Alabama was also a Republican triplex.
The Republican presidential candidate won Alabama in each of the past five election cycles. The most narrow margin of victory was George W. Bush's 15 percent margin in 2000, while the widest was Donald Trump's 28 percent margin in 2016.

Alabama was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.

Race rating

Race ratings: Alabama gubernatorial election, 2018

Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2018	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican

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.

Alabama Party Control: 1992-2019
Six years of Democratic trifectas • Nine years of Republican trifectas

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Governor	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

Demographic data for Alabama

	Alabama	U.S.
Total population:	4,853,875	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	50,645	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	51.5%	50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:	68.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	26.4%	12.6%
Asian:	1.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.7%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	84.3%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	23.5%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$43,623	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	23.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alabama.

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