After November, Alabama will have a new governor, the newest slate of constitutional officers in a generation, and a brand new state house.
The one thing it will not have is a shortage of people who are absolutely certain they should be in charge of all three.
But those who actually are – can be found on this year’s list.
As Yellowhammer News celebrates its 15th anniversary, in a special edition of this year’s Power & Influence: Top 50, we’re taking stock of the most effective figures in the modern era of Alabama politics – and making picks of who will dominate in the next.
The honorees featured in this year’s edition are some of the most proven power players of the past decade-plus. And those who have been paying attention to our rankings for that long know that we’re not just guessing.
FULL CLASS OF 2026: 40-31 / 50-41 / Who’s Next?
Informed by those who know best, including Montgomery itself, each year we recognize the top individuals in government, politics, and business who leverage their power and influence to set the agenda, move the ball – and when necessary, stop things cold.
Here’s our look behind the curtain of who’s running state government right now more than ever:
30. Dave Stewart
Bradley
A lot of those with a resume like Dave Stewart spend the rest of their careers after government, cashing in. Dave Stewart is actively spending his building something sturdier.
That is the clearest way to explain how a man who left Riley’s administration fifteen years ago still feels officially central to the workings of Alabama government. Now is a good time to take stock of how much he expanded his influence in the Ivey era.
The combined muscle of he and his team’s capability has driven Bradley’s stock through the roof. They’ve delivered major wins on offense and defense for clients with some of the most complex goals.
He’s long shaken off the former ‘Riley’s guy’ brand – and while there are many ways to age in Montgomery, Dave Stewart’s trajectory is one of the best.
We led with that because more people than ever will be coming to him for advice on what objective success with a new governor looks like.
29. Jeremy Walker
The Alabama Association of REALTORS®
2027 will mark a full decade since we named Jeremy Walker to the ‘Who’s Next’ list. We called it then.
And we’ll call it now. His influence is really just getting started.
He’s a genius who knows how to deploy it effectively on issues of consequence and scale.
Every threat that materialized against his 20,000 members’ interests was handled before it became a problem for any of them because he was on top of it.
Walker is already a force to be reckoned with in the 2026 cycle. RealtorsPAC has raised big, only dipping below $3 million this past month – which is simply the sound of those dollars reaching their intended target.
But either way, Walker has been ready since the last cycle ended. What can you say – he’s a proactive guy.
In an industry where many play it safe, Jeremy isn’t afraid to take risks with a calculated, smart approach.
28. Josh Blades
Bradley
When Blades talks, everyone listens, and in 2027, they will be listening harder than they ever have.
What makes Blades dangerous is not that he hustles. Plenty of people hustle. It is that he sees the corner coming. He is one of those lobbyists who looks younger than his institutional knowledge would suggest.
He knows the House, the governor’s office, and campaigns – but what sets him apart is how he leverages his love of campaigns to drive strategy.
From voter targeting to message testing and execution, he combines institutional knowledge with analytics, all from a firm whose name still commands attention.
The Legislature gets stranger every year. Josh Blades keeps getting more employable.
27. Tim Howe
Business Council of Alabama, Chief Advocacy Officer
If Tim Howe was ranked as highly as he should be on this list, it would make many in the halls of power recoil out of sheer terror. But he remains somewhere in the middle to not rattle the markets unnecessarily. We suspect that’s how he likes to keep it.
In fact, he didn’t even come out of the woodwork for the first time on this list until two years ago. At that time, we called him a Michelin-star chef. In the time since, the kitchen has gotten considerably larger.
Howe ran two Senate Pro Tem offices as Chief of Staff through a consequential mid-quadrennium leadership transition, entering and exiting trusted by both Secretary Reed and Senator Gudger after a renown streak of effectiveness and conservative achievements in their chamber.
Howe then turned his eye on the 2026 map for Gudger’s well-funded ForgePAC and executed strategy on behalf of the upper chamber’s Republican supermajority.
Then BCA called – and he answered.
If you’re wondering what a Chief Advocacy Officer does, we’re not exactly sure. But from Howe’s early work on the job, it seems like his role is charged with setting the table for the next chapter of the Alabama political landscape.
26. Philip Bryan
Swatek, Vaughn, and Bryan
The unbelievable durability of Philip Bryan on this list has been reaching for the same true thing since 2013: He’s a killer.
Pair that with the unprecedented amount of influence he’s successfully leveraged for client gains this term and you’ve got a man who is guaranteed to breathe good air in the new state house next term.
SV&B, the firm he departed Pro Tem Del Marsh’s office for like an athlete turning pro, sells strategy, velocity, the right people at the right time, and most importantly, legislative victories.
Bryan has always been at that speed.
This session, that looked like companies navigating a legislature that had never seriously considered their industry a policy topic, making sure clients stay ahead during a term that rewrote the rulebook underneath them, and mitigating consequences before they emerge.
He remains one of Montgomery’s most seasoned hired guns who can absorb an expensive problem with unfavorable legislative conditions and turn it into a win before you blink.
25. Jess Skaggs
Office of the Alabama Senate Pro Tempore, Chief of Staff
Jess Skaggs has spent the better part of a decade learning every useful angle of Alabama government, and 2026 is the year that education started cashing at full value.
Pro Tem Garlan Gudger looked at the full field of candidates for his Chief of Staff and picked Jess Skaggs. That was a decision largely about who is trusted in the Alabama Senate right now when it matters most.
As Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Ainsworth, he built that by speaking authoritatively on behalf of his boss and the office, and doing so with sound counsel.
Both of those bosses have been two of the quickest thinkers and actors of the recent term. What does that say about Skaggs? He is probably having to move even faster.
This session was supposed to be quiet – pass the budgets, go home – but it got busy fast. Skaggs worked in a Senate chamber that delivered total uniformity among all members.
We believe his influence and trust in the upper chamber will translate to the new state house in a big way.
24. Steve Raby
Raby continues to keep the fire hot. Just in time for the map to heat up for a critical 2026 cycle for House Republicans while his top stakeholder, Speaker Ledbetter, roasts marshmallows.
In 2027, the GOP majority, a majority Raby helped build and grow over four cycles, will be put to work to ensure the House offers a home-field advantage to an incoming Tuberville administration.
Before Governor Tuberville delivers his 2027 State of the State address, one of his strongest personal relationships in the legislature will be an asset to craft and deliver on his agenda: Speaker Ledbetter.
What further amplifies Raby’s position is his personal relationships with Tuberville himself and Jordan Doufexis — relationships built on trust that extend well beyond politics.
We fully expect Raby to seize his 10-year residency on this list next year in the new State House.
That doesn’t even speak to the session now drawing to a close. Needless to say, nobody can out-Raby him yet.
23. Steve Marshall
Alabama Attorney General
Steve Marshall didn’t come to Montgomery to make friends with the federal government – it turns out, he came to sue it.
And that’s not campaign rhetoric in his bid for U.S. Senate this cycle. It’s been nine years’ worth of litigation challenging just about every bad idea the left could launder through a federal agency – done so with zero apologies.
$700 million in opioid recoveries for the state. Court wins against open borders, ESG mandates, gender ideology, and a federal bureaucracy that spent four years governing red states like conquered territory.
Marshall has secured more injunctions and constitutional grounds against policies Alabamians never voted for than any official in this state.
As the 2026 primary election day approaches and runoffs loom, beyond his bid for U.S. Senate, the biggest dynamic of Marshall’s 2026 cycle is a full endorsement of his Chief Counsel of nine years, Katherine Robertson, running to succeed him as AG.
Montgomery has been doing the math on this race for a while. And it feels closer to the verdict Marshall wants next.
If Washington does not come calling in this cycle, plenty of others in Alabama will.
22. Taylor Williams
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative
Four years ago, this list called T.W. a talented operator and predicted his stock would keep rising.
We were right, but we underpredicted. The man is a force of nature.
PowerSouth serves more than a million Alabamians across 39 counties, fueling the electric cooperatives that anchor rural Alabama.
He’s always been there—never really gone—and somehow, he’s everywhere else that counts too. And with his wife, Liz, a powerhouse fundraiser in her own right, the operation carries an extra edge.
Wherever a decision is being made in this state, T.W. has either already weighed in or is about to weigh in. County commissioners, legislators, congressional offices, and business associations from the Tennessee Valley to the Florida line return his calls at a higher rate and faster than anyone in the business.
The jump to #22 is not due to a single session. It is the compounding interest from fifteen years as one of the most well-liked people in Alabama politics.
21. Greg Jones
The Jones Group
There are plenty of lobbyists in Montgomery who know how to get a bill passed.
There are fewer who know how to kill one so cleanly that half the building is still figuring out who to blame into the weekend.
Greg Jones has long since graduated into that rarer category. We’ve spent the quadrennium on this list inching toward the obvious – a man who can put time on the clock when minutes count.
This year, the description is simpler: Greg Jones is what happens when persuasion, timing, and menace learn to share a suit – the best suit in the building.
Two decades ago, when he pivoted a lucrative crossroads in his career, he built a firm from five clients into one of the most entrepreneurial influence shops in the state.
When the same man is today trusted by institutions like Apple, entire sectors of industry, cities, counties, airports, universities, nonprofits, and lawmakers themselves – take note.
In 2027, watch him take the very short walk from his office into the new state house with the biggest grin you’ve ever seen.
