As 2026 statewide elections approach in the Yellowhammer State, all signs indicate that the younger end of the voting demographic will be pivotal in deciding who the next leading figures of Alabama will be. 

Political commentators have seemingly always rushed to remark that the youth vote will decide the next election, and of course getting a finger on the pulse of the rising generation’s political persona is a key indicator of the future.

However, any readers skeptical of those opening words need only observe the strategic behavior of those who are getting their 2026 campaigns up and running. 

A statement released by Secretary of State Wes Allen’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor reads: 

“Wes Allen has announced the addition of a new member to his campaign in an effort to become Alabama’s next Republican Lt. Governor. Brilyn Hollyhand, the chair of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council, podcast host and bestselling author, will serve as Allen’s Statewide Youth Campaign Coordinator.” 

“In this role, Hollyhand will mobilize young conservatives across Alabama, organize campus coalitions, and build a movement that amplifies Allen’s strong conservative Republican record and his reputation as one of the state’s most reliable and dedicated Republican leaders.” 

The move comes after multiple other candidates for the office of Lieutenant Governor have announced their candidacies, and additional state figures are rumored to be weighing an entrance into the field. 

But such a bold – perhaps revolutionary – strategy in state politics is evidence of the dynamic and growing impact younger voters will have in this cycle.

In a state where the Republican primaries are the de facto general election for nearly all offices, candidates may be able to tap into the cutting edge of conservatism and extract electoral success. 

This opportunity is all the more golden when one considers the current political landscape. According to CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement), the youth vote (ages 18-29) in Alabama accentuated from R+7 in the 2020 Presidential cycle to R+15 last November, part of the nationwide shift to the right among young voters from D+25 to D+4 between those elections. 

This remarkable progress in Republican politics was spearheaded by none other than Brilyn Hollyhand himself, and credit for that can be largely given to the Alabama native.

In an interview with Yellowhammer News, Hollyhand said “we’re going to replicate the exact same strategy I just successfully used with President Trump’s team in the November election.” 

Hollyhand went on to say that this increasingly conservative generation of voters “are interested in seeing new younger blood in Montgomery,” alluding to the fact that of the major candidates that have announced for the seat, Allen is the youngest. 

He also said that this young shift to the right is due largely to President Trump himself.

“People would love to see the same America first, Alabama first policies behind these candidates,” he said.

“A lot of people have filled the position for Secretary of State; nobody has done as good a job as Wes Allen has done cleaning up the voter rolls, doing the things Alabamians actually care about: coming in and making sure that it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat in the state,” Hollyhand said, tying Allen to President Trump’s election integrity platform. 

He also listed immigration enforcement and affordability as issues that are bringing younger people into the conservative movement. 

But even more than an existing voter base moving towards the right is the vast opportunity to boost turnout.

Another report by CIRCLE reveals that last midterm cycle in 2022, Alabama was nearly the lowest of all states in terms of youth turnout at a disappointing 14.7%. 

However, according to Hollyhand, candidates like Secretary Allen can view that as room for growth. 

When asked about the approximately 85.3% of young Alabamians who failed to vote four years ago, Hollyhand said, “I was frustrated when I came back home to Alabama and saw that exact number that you just referenced – that our state has such low voter turnout. So I was crisscrossing the nation working for the president and I came home to my home state and we didn’t have a lot of youth voter turnout. That’s frustrating.” 

He continued into his strategy: “I’ve spoken at every public university in the state of Alabama and I absolutely think that Wes Allen and I can cross the state and do a really fun job speaking at those same groups.” 

Among those groups Hollyhand mentioned were the College Republicans, Young Republicans, Young America’s Foundation, and Turning Point USA, all of whom have chapters across the state. 

Readers should not misinterpret that Hollyhand’s strategy to boost turnout is to engage with already politically active groups, however it should be noted that these groups exist to encourage their peers first to vote, and, of course, to vote for conservative or right-wing candidates. 

To younger Alabamians who are considering becoming more politically active, the self-made political juggernaut said, “the first thing I always say – that’s the first question I get when I do a Q&A in campus speeches – is just having conversations. Whether that’s talking to somebody sitting next to you at the lunch table the next day or whether that’s talking to your roommate or somebody in your class – whether that’s sharing something on your social media or actually going out and joining a political club in your college campus – start conversations. Get involved. It’s super simple.”

He, of course, agreed with the assessment that young voters will play a more leading role in deciding the victors of the 2026 cycle. 

“I think before this cycle – before 2024 – the previous status quo for Young Americans was ‘well I’m going to wait until after college to get involved,’ and thankfully now we’re seeing a lot of our peers say ‘actually this isn’t just my parents’ America, this is my America.’” 

Hollyhand continued more specifically, “and I think as well we’re going to see so many people actually pay attention to the Lieutenant Governor race and a lot of young people previously wouldn’t even know that the Lieutenant Governor was a position.” 

In a noteworthy aside, fresh off announcing his new role with Allen’s Lieutenant Governor campaign, Hollyhand remarked, “We’re going to plan to use those exact things in Wes Allen’s campaign and a lot of other campaigns across this great state.” 

He revisited that topic, commenting that “everybody that’s flirting with a run for that Senate seat seems to be in the younger category, and I think that’s an amazing concept to have Katie Britt, our next young Senator, as well as Wes Allen all three working together as the next generation.” 

While Hollyhand has not explicitly announced that any other official candidates or rumored candidates for the various open seats in Alabama are bringing the youth-voter expert on board, one thing is obvious: anyone who wants to win the Republican nomination for an office would be prudent to pay attention to the state’s next generation. 

After all, they may be the underdogs to decide these highly anticipated elections.

Carter Ashcraft is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama, a rising law student, and has worked professionally across roles in Alabama state government. He can be reached at [email protected].