Former Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl has made it official that he’s jumping into the race for Lt. Governor in 2026.
Wahl formally announced his campaign at a press conference at the Alabama Republican Party Headquarters on Tuesday.
“President Trump understands that Alabama needs a Lieutenant Governor who will fight unapologetically for the America First agenda — and that’s why he endorsed me,” Wahl told supporters.
“Alabama can lead the nation in a conservative resurgence to protect our rights, our freedoms, and our values. Now more than ever, we need bold conservative leaders who will stand firmly on our platform, reject weak and lukewarm policies, and push back against the radical left.”
Trump endorsed Wahl in a Truth Social post last week, one day before Wahl says he made a final decision on entering the contest.
“I actually learned about the the endorsement from someone texting me the screenshot, saying ‘congratulations.’ Classic Donald Trump,” Wahl told WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program” Tuesday.
“You know, it’s been incredible talking with him and as well as as well as the staff surrounding him through this process.”
Wahl had been the ALGOP Chairman since 2021. He now wants to help push forward conservative policies from the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
“Anyone who’s watched my work as chairman of the state Republican Party knows my passion is constitutional limited government that defends the rights and the freedoms of every single individual,” He explained.
“You know, I think, I think the vision of our founding fathers is the blueprint to make America great again, and it’s one of the reasons why I’m such a strong advocate for president, Donald Trump, for the American first agenda, for returning control to the people. And, you know, out of the hands of the bureaucrats, the Montgomery swamp or the D.C. swap. And so this is my heart. This is where I’ve been for years, and this, this is the next step in continuing to fight in the battle for good government and to put the people first.”
He now faces off against Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, who already blasted Wahl’s personal and political history.
“By entering this race, Nehemiah Wahl has, once again, betrayed his obligation to the Alabama Republican Party,” Allen said in a statement, referencing controversy in years past over Wahl’s usage of non-state identification to vote in the 2022 election.
According to documentation filed this week with the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, Wahl registered as a candidate as “Nehemiah Wahl.”
He responded to Allen’s criticism Tuesday.
“So I get it,” he said. “This has been a hard a hard week for Wes Allen. I’m getting in the race with the endorsement of the President, but I want to run my own race. I don’t want to talk about candidates. I want to talk about what I want to do for the people of Alabama. And so I think this is a desperate attempt to undermine my credibility. There’s obvious outright lies or misinformation in what he said, number one, we should be talking about the people of the state and what we can do to help their lives be better. That’s my priority. That’s what I want to talk about.”
Wahl said he looks forward to showcasing his record as the Chairman of ALGOP for the past five years, in addition to his continued service as Chairman of the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) board.
“As far as, ‘shirking my duties as state party chairman’ — absolutely not,” he argued.
“I was in office the final day of qualifying, helping this process get through before I announced myself, putting putting the party first, putting our candidates first. That’s about my passion. That’s been my goal. And I think that just shows the extent of the desperateness that he has in accused me every every political candidate has a platform they start from, and I’m proud that my platform is state party chairman. I think that’s where I’ve been as I’ve been fighting for people’s rights and freedoms.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
