Democrats offering slate with familiar names as Ron Sparks is poised to run for Ag. Commissioner

December 27, 2025 – MONTGOMERY – The last time Democrats won a race during a gubernatorial election for a statewide office was 2006. That year former Governor Jim Folsom Jr. (D) was elected lieutenant governor. Democrats also took two seats on the Public Service Commission, Sue Bell Cobb unseated Bob Riley's choice for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court (Drayton Nabors), Democrats successfully held on to their majorities of both Houses of the Legislature, while Ron Sparks was re-elected as Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. In those days, Alabama was still very much a two party state.

Four years later everything changed dramatically. In 2010, Republicans won supermajorities in both Houses of the Alabama Legislature ending 135 years of continuous Democratic Party rule in Montgomery. State Treasurer Kay Ivey (R) unseated incumbent Lt. Governor Folsom, meanwhile State Representative Robert Bentley (R-Tuscaloosa) won the race for Governor easily defeating Sparks - then the Democratic nominee for Governor

Not much has changed electionwise in Alabama since that landmark 2010 election.

Governor, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and State Treasurer are all statewide constitutional offices voted on by the people. From 2010 to the present Democrats are 0 and 28 in races for the state constitutional offices. It was so bad last time that the Alabama Democratic Party could not even find candidates for Lt/ Governor, auditor, Ag commissioner or treasurer.

For the offices of Governor and Attorney General no Alabama Democrats has won in the twenty first century. Republicans are eight and one in the last nine governor's races – going back to the mid-1980s. The last five attorney generals: State Marshall. Luther Strange. Troy King. Bill Pryor. And Jeff Sessions have all been Republicans.

Sparks, who served as Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries from 2003 to 2011. Unlike the Presidential term limits, constitutional officers can run for more that two terms – they just can't be three consecutive terms.

Sparks – a native of Fort Payne (once a textile industry hub) - has been a lobbyist for most of the last 15 years and has not sought public office – watching while Alabama Democrats lose election after election from the sidelines.

In 2022 the Alabama Democratic Party ran nominees for Governor (Yolanda Flowers), U.S. Senate (Will Boyd). Secretary of State (Pamela J. Laffitte). They could not even find people willing to run for Lieutenant Governor, State Treasurer, Agriculture Commissioner, or State Auditor.

This year is apparently different. There are all kinds of people who have announced their intentions to run for several statewide offices in Alabama. There are at least four Democratic candidates for Governor that we are aware of, at least three running for U.S. Senate, two for Ag Commissioner, and more announcing each day as qualifying opens.

All four Democratic Party nominees in 2022: Flowers. Boyd. Major, and Laffitte were Black. Black voters are by far the most loyal constituency that the Alabama Democratic Party has left. The voters in the Alabama Democratic Primary are overwhelmingly Black and women (particularly single Black women) are the Alabama Democratic Party's core group of voters. That said, there does appears to be a conscious effort on the part of some Democratic elites to run a slate of White men this time around.

Former Senator Doug Jones is clearly at the top of that ticket.

Jones will turn 72 before the Democratic primary. If elected, he would be in his 80s by the end of his second term. Jones was a U.S. Attorney during the later part of the twentieth century under President William J. Clinton (D). He made a political comeback in 2017, running for Senate. He defeated former Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) in an election that was dominated by allegations of sexual misconduct by Moore 35 years prior. Less than three years later, Jones was defeated in a landslide by former Auburn head football Coach Tommy Tuberville (R). Tuberville is the likely Republican nominee, Ensler is just 35 years old.

Sparks is from the same generation of Democrats as Jones is. He is 73.

Wayne Rogers is their candidate for Secretary of State. Rogers is a native of Thomasville. Like Jones he is an attorney and federal prosecutor back in the 1990s. He is a longtime Democratic organizer and is a former Chairman of the Jefferson County Democratic Party. Rogers graduated from Thomasville High School in 1980, earned a music degree from Samford University in 1984, and completed his law degree at Cumberland School of Law in 1988. After leaving the DOJ he became managing counsel for Travelers Insurance. He co‑founding his own firm in 2016. Rogers has been a central figure in Democratic organizing and community leadership. He chaired the Hoover Democrats, helped strengthen the Jefferson County Democratic Party, and served as Executive Assistant to Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway (D).

State Representative Phillip Ensler appears to be their candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Ensler is from New York City, He took a Teach for America job as a teacher in Alabama and then ran for state Representative against incumbent Republican Charlotte Meadows. Ensler was aided by redistricting that changed most of the precincts in the district from likely Republican to overwhelmingly Democrat. Like Jones and Rogers, Ensler is an attorney. Ensler is 35.

Kyle Sweetser is a businessman in the Mobile area who is involved in his family construction company, He is a former Trump voter who abandoned his earlier ideals and spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention as a Republican critic of Trump. He formally switched to the Democratic Party in April 2025 after burning bridges with Republican voters. Sweeter is running for the open U.S. Senate seat – currently held by Tuberville. Sweeter appeared at a Tuscaloosa rally with Doug Jones and perennial Texas candidate Beto O'Rourke in 2025, countering a Trump event at the University of Alabama. He is 36.

Jones, Sparks, and Sweetser all enter contested Democratic primary races. It will be interesting to see if an overwhelmingly Black Democratic primary electorate is going to get excited by a slate of White men or will they support people from their own community: Boyd, Flowers, JaMel Brown, and Chad "Chig" Martin are all running for Governor. Dakarai Larriett and Lamont Lavender are running for Senate. Dr. Deidre Willis has announced that she is running for Ag. Commissioner. Whoever ultimately wins the Democratic nominations will have to confront the Alabama Republican Party. Through November 30, Republicans candidates have already raised $36,009,010 compared to Democrats' $2,126,939 (Alabama Secretary of State's website). Now political action committees (businesses, unions, single issue groups) have raised another $24,627,507 they will use to pick the winners and losers. Democrats could potentially receive some of those funds, but only if they can convince the PAC managers that they have a credible chance of winning.

More candidate announcements are likely as formal candidate qualifying (for both parties) is just a week away starting on January 5, 2026.

Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Randy Kelley announced, "Qualifying for running for political office in 2026 will begin January 5, 2026 at 9 a.m. Qualifying will end January 23, 2026 at 5 p.m. Information regarding qualifying will be posted to the website on January 5 and you may qualify online or in person."

The Democratic Party primary is on May 19, 2026.

To comment or ask a question email: brandonmreporter@gmail.com