Ainsworth will not run for Governor

May 21, 2025 – GUNTERSVILLE, AL – Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth (R) announced that he will not run for Governor in 2026.

"After much prayer and many discussions with my family, friends, and supporters, I will not be a candidate for governor during the 2026 election cycle," Lt. Gov. Ainsworth said on social media.

With Ainsworth out of the race, and rumors rampant that U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) will announce his campaign for Governor in coming days, it appears highly likely that Tuberville will win the Governor's race in a landslide.

Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) has already announced that he will not run for Governor. Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate (R), who had expressed interest in the race, told the Alabama Gazette that he has no interest in running against the popular Senator and former Auburn head football coach.

Ainsworth's announcement had been expected by most Republican insiders. While Ainsworth is widely respected across the state, Tuberville has far greater name recognition and at this point is the most popular U.S. Senator the state has ever had. Defeating the pro-Trump Tuberville in an Alabama Republican primary is highly unlikely for Ainsworth or any other conceivable candidate. Polling by the Ainsworth team likely only confirmed that.

Ainsworth has a young family, a booming home construction/real estate business in Guntersville, and a farm in which he raises crops and cattle. Lt. Gov. is a part-time job where he gets to spend most of his time in Guntersville with his family, his business, and his farm. Governor is a 365 day a year job where the Governor wakes up in Montgomery and then flies to all four corners of the state and beyond on the state jet handling Governor business like recruiting jobs to Alabama or fighting for the state's interest in Washington, D.C.. That would have been a tremendous lifestyle change for the entire Ainsworth family and Will Ainsworth is capable of making far more money for his family in the private sector than he ever could as Governor.

"Kendall (Mrs. Ainsworth) and I have decided that focusing on our children during their last years in high school and transitioning into the private sector makes the most sense for all of us at this time in our lives," said Ainsworth. "Serving as Alabama's Lieutenant Governor has been the honor of my lifetime. In the year-and-a-half remaining in my term, I will continue working night and day to meet the needs, improve the lives, and protect the conservative values of the Alabama citizens I took an oath to serve."

Ainsworth, while he has eliminated himself from contention for Governor, could still make noise in the 2026 race if he decided not to opt for the private sector.

Ainsworth is term limited from running for Lt. Gov. again; but he could run for Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Secretary of State, or Public Service Commissioner. In all four of those races there are already declared candidates; but Ainsworth would be a formidable opponent if he chose to be.

"While my name will not be on the ballot for governor in 2026, I will be on the campaign trail working alongside President Trump to help elect a strong, conservative governor and other Republican elected officials who will keep Alabama moving in the right direction," Ainsworth told his many supporters.

If Ainsworth doesn't run for something in 2026, his name will be on the short list for every major office that comes open for the next twenty years so a political comeback will remain a possibility.

Ainsworth has served two terms as Lt. Governor. Prior to that service, he served the people of Marshall County in the Alabama House of Representatives. He is an Auburn graduate, a businessman, farmer, and former youth minister.