With the May 19th Republican primary less than two months out, the race to succeed term-limited Attorney General Steve Marshall is the one statewide race in 2026 where law enforcement endorsements show tangible professional credibility, on top of the local political muscle they carry in any other race on the ballot.
The primary contest between former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, longtime Chief Counsel to current AG Steve Marshall, Katherine Robertson, and Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey, has shaped up to be one of the marquee prizefights of the 2026 campaign cycle.
Fundraising and polling tell part of the story. But in Alabama politics, law enforcement endorsements tend to reflect real relationships, regional influence, and professional trust in ways that other campaign currency cannot easily replicate.
After a steady flow of endorsement announcements from all three camps over the past 10-plus months, Yellowhammer News dug in and took stock of where each candidate’s law enforcement coalitions stand.
A comprehensive list of each candidate’s endorsements are indexed below.
Alabama, like most states, has three major categories of publicly-elected law enforcement officials:
- District Attorneys, who prosecute criminals and work with police to strategize and investigate crime, doing work extremely similar to that of the AG
- Sheriffs, who in many Alabama counties are the last line between order and chaos, elected by the communities they protect, and are accountable to no one but them
- Police Chiefs who are appointed at the municipal (city/town) level
DAs, sheriffs, and police chiefs are the AG office’s primary partners in prosecuting criminals, enforcing state law, and coordinating statewide law enforcement strategy.
Measured against those three groups, each candidate has staked out distinct territory.
According to Robertson’s campaign, her 25 sheriff endorsements represent more than a third of every elected sheriff in Alabama, which reflects a level of backing from law enforcement that is unmatched in the field.
According to Mitchell’s campaign, his coalition of 19 police chiefs, seven sheriffs and home county district attorney, when paired with polling on the race, shows a clear picture of the race with Mitchell as the frontrunner.
According to all three candidates, each of their endorsement scorecards are far from final.
Pamela Casey, who has served as the Blount County District Attorney since 2010, touted the support of 14 of her district attorney counterparts across the state.
As the candidate with the most limited statewide profile compared to challengers, Casey lacks the fundraising success that her opponents wield. In September, she loaned herself $500,000 to attempt to overcome that gap.
However, Casey argues that disadvantage, along with her experience in the field, is a good thing for the state’s next top cop.
“I’m endorsed by real people who have done the job – not associations with agendas and big money,” Casey said in a statement to Yellowhammer News.
“For two decades, I have stood in Alabama courtrooms holding violent criminals and child predators accountable. When voters hear that record, they see the difference between talking about being tough on crime and actually doing it,” Casey added.
In addition to the DA endorsements, Casey has been endorsed by 3 police chiefs.
Jay Mitchell currently leads among police chiefs, with 19 endorsements.
Mitchell is a former Alabama Supreme Court Associate Justice, who stepped down to run for the office last year.
Mitchell has also assembled 19 police chief endorsements, the most of any candidate in that category, largely concentrated in northwest Alabama. That geographic clustering is somewhat unexpected for a Mobile native, though it may reflect his years of statewide visibility as a Supreme Court Justice.
Mitchell’s lone but standout DA endorsement comes from from Mitchell’s home county, Mobile County District Attorney Kieth Blackwood.
“Law enforcement leaders across the state are lining up behind Jay because they know that if he is the Attorney General, they will be empowered to do their jobs confidently—with the full backing of his office,” Mitchell’s campaign said in a statement. “Jay is the candidate they trust to back the blue through thick and thin.”
Then there is Katherine Robertson’s support among Alabama sheriffs, which warrants its own accounting. Robertson has secured endorsements from 25 of Alabama’s 67 county sheriffs.
As Chief Counsel to Attorney General Marshall for the last decade, these likely extend from the institutional bonds she formed under their tenure together.
In a statement to Yellowhammer News, Robertson’s campaign argued she is “unquestionably” the law-enforcement-backed candidate — as well as the most experienced — pointing to nearly a decade working alongside Marshall on parole, capital punishment, sentencing, gang enforcement, child exploitation, and other heavy functions of the office.
“For the past ten years as Chief Counsel, I’ve worked side-by-side with sheriffs and deputies to enforce the law, support victims, and keep our communities safe,” Robertson said in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “That experience isn’t just a resume line—it’s the foundation that prepares me to lead the Attorney General’s Office from day one.”
“The overwhelming support from a majority of Alabama’s Republican sheriffs speaks volumes. These are the men and women who rely on the Attorney General to be a knowledgeable and strong partner in fighting crime and pursuing justice—they know who will stand with them, and it’s me,” Robertson added.
Robertson has also drawn endorsements from two police chiefs: David Hyche of Calera, and Clay Morris, who endorsed her while serving as Pell City’s chief, but has since moved to lead the Hoover Police Department.
As catalogued by Yellowhammer News throughout 2025, the Mitchell and Robertson campaign traded barbs on a monthly basis over the scale and the legitimacy of the funds they raised. Toward the beginning of each month, candidates for statewide office must report the dollar figures they raised and spent through the Alabama Secretary of State’s office.
Throughout that time and still today, Mitchell’s campaign raises objections to Robertson’s fundraising means.
Mitchell’s campaign argued to Yellowhammer News that only 41% of Robertson’s funding comes from in-state donors compared to his 96% — and that she “has accepted $1.75 million in dark money.”
Mitchell’s campaign added that he “leads in every poll we’ve seen–including those shared publicly and privately,” a spokesperson argued, despite Robertson’s campaign outspending his two-to-one, according to FCPA data.
His campaign also pointed to a compilation of four public polls taken between August 2025 and February 2026, in which Mitchell has led every survey, ranging from 9.0% to 13.0%, while Robertson and Casey have yet to crack double digits.
Latest filings indicate Mitchell indeed continues to lead fundraising — but Robertson’s campaign is experiencing a rapid infusion of financial support that quickly amounted a campaign warchest that now tops $2 million.
Mitchell’s current cash-on-hand total stands at $2.7 million while Casey’s sits at just over $600,000.
But with just over 50 days until the primary election date, endorsements only matter as much as the paid media budgets behind them — and in a low-turnout primary, that calculus is still very much unsettled.
After all, in tight race with many undecided voters up for grabs expected to go to a runoff, votes that the support of local law enforcement can win could make all the difference needed.
Jay Mitchell
- Sheriff John Samaniego (Shelby County)
- Sheriff Eric Balentine (Colbert County)
- Sheriff Scott Byrd (Coffee County)
- Sheriff Caleb Snoddy (Winston County)
- Sheriff Shannon Oliver (Franklin County)
- Sheriff Henry Lambert (Clay County)
- Sheriff Max Sanders (Lawrence County)
- Chief Bill Partridge (Oxford)
- Chief Joey Duncan (Cullman)
- Chief Paul Irwin (Leeds)
- Chief Richard Bickerstaff (Lineville)
- Chief Ross McGlaughn (Heflin)
- Chief Michael Moore (Enterprise)
- Chief Tim Ross (Homewood)
- Chief Joseph Stanford (Ashland)
- Chief Tabitha Campbell (Courtland)
- Chief Justin Lovvorn (Greenville)
- Chief Marcus Wood (Jacksonville)
- Chief Mike Edmondson (Rainsville)
- Chief Phillip Hancock (Wadley)
- Chief Jordan Carter (Hamilton)
- Chief Jay Freeman (Gadsden State University)
- Chief Alan Kelly (Ohatchee)
- Chief Jarrett Williams (Southside)
- Chief Camp Yancey (Rainbow City)
- District Attorney Keith Blackwood (Mobile County)
Katherine Robertson
- Sheriff Jody Wade – Bibb County
- Sheriff John Shearon – Blount County
- Sheriff Mason Bynum – Dale County
- Sheriff Eric Blankenship – Henry County
- Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin – Limestone County
- Sheriff Phil Sims – Marshall County
- Sheriff Paul Burch Jr. – Mobile County
- Sheriff Ron Puckett – Morgan County
- Sheriff F.J. Harnen – Jackson County
- Sheriff Jonathon Horton – Etowah County
- Sheriff Terry Mears – Crenshaw County
- Sheriff Donald Valenza – Houston County
- Sheriff Kevin Williams – Marion County
- Sheriff Richard Stringer – Washington County
- Sheriff Jon Daniel – Cleburne County
- Sheriff Jeff Shaver – Cherokee County
- Sheriff David Scruggs – Butler County
- Sheriff Billy Murray – St. Clair County
- Sheriff Heath Jackson – Escambia County
- Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore – Talladega County
- Sheriff Tony Helms – Geneva County
- Sheriff Blake Turman – Covington County
- Sheriff Kevin Turner – Madison County
- Sheriff Ron Abernathy – Tuscaloosa County
- Sheriff Michael Howell – Coosa County
- Sheriff Chris Curry – Shelby County (Retired)
- Chief David Hyche – Police Chief of Calera
- Chief Clay Morris – Police Chief of Hoover (Endorsed while serving as Police Chief of Pell City)
Pamela Casey
- District Attorney Lynn Hammonds – Calhoun and Cleburne Counties
- District Attorney Walt Merrell – Covington County
- District Attorney Scott Slatton – Winston and Marion Counties
- District Attorney Jody Willoughby – Etowah County
- District Attorney Andy Hamlin – Lamar, Fayette, and Pickens Counties
- District Attorney Jeff Barksdale – Franklin County
- District Attorney Kirke Adams – Dale and Geneva Counties
- District Attorney Joe Ficquette – Clay and Coosa Counties
- District Attorney Brian Jones – Limestone County
- District Attorney James Tarbox – Pike and Coffee Counties
- District Attorney Lyle Harmon – St. Clair County
- District Attorney CJ Robinson – Chilton, Elmore, Autauga Counties
- District Attorney Charlotte Tesmer- Lowndes, Crenshaw, and Butler Counties
- District Attorney Ben Reeves – Barbour and Bullock Counties
- Chief Jimmy Baldwin – Oneonta
- Chief Philip Weaver – Town of Blountsville
- Chief Ken Evans – Cleveland
- Chief Scott Kon – Highland Lake
Carter Ashcraft is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. He is a student at the University of Alabama School of Law and has worked professionally across roles in Alabama state government. He can be reached at [email protected].
