Montgomery, AL (BuzzReport) — Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, officially filed Monday to run for lieutenant governor of Alabama, according to public records, marking the first Democratic entry into the race for the state’s second-highest office.
Ensler was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2022 after defeating Republican incumbent Charlotte Meadows in House District 74. The seat had been held by Republicans since 2002, but redistricting made the district more favorable to Democrats. His victory was notable statewide, representing the first Democratic flip of a legislative seat in Alabama since 2010.
Earlier this summer, Ensler announced he would not seek re-election to the House, citing plans to return to his home state of New York to be closer to family. That decision, however, was short-lived.
“My mind has not been at peace since I made the announcement that I would be moving back to NY,” Ensler said in a statement Thursday morning. “My heart is here in Alabama and with the people who have become my extended family.”
Ensler’s entry reshapes the lieutenant governor’s race, which until now had been dominated by Republicans. Six GOP candidates were previously competing in the primary, though that field narrowed this week when former University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron exited the race. McCarron said he was stepping aside to accept a new career opportunity in football, later identified as a head coaching position with a Birmingham-area semiprofessional team.
Despite claims in his exit announcement that his campaign had shown strong polling numbers and significant financial commitments, no public polling or fundraising reports substantiated those assertions.
The remaining Republican contenders include Secretary of State Wes Allen; Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate; businesswoman Nicole Wadsworth; former gubernatorial candidate Dean Odle; and sheriff’s deputy Patrick Bishop.
The lieutenant governor serves as president of the Alabama Senate, presiding over legislative sessions and casting tie-breaking votes when necessary. The office also assumes the governorship if the position becomes vacant. While the role once held powers comparable to the Speaker of the House, those authorities were largely transferred to the Senate president pro tempore in 1999 following a protracted standoff between a Democratic-controlled Legislature and then–Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, a Republican. Today, the office carries limited formal power beyond its presiding duties.
During his first term in the Legislature, Ensler gained attention for advocating a statewide ban on Glock switches—devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons. While his proposal did not advance in the House, a similar bill sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, was signed into law this spring as part of Gov. Kay Ivey’s public safety package. The measure marked the first firearm restriction legislation to pass the Alabama House since 2010.
If elected, Ensler would be the first Democrat to hold the lieutenant governor’s office since Jim Folsom Jr., who won the post in 2006.
With Ensler now in the race, Democrats have a standard-bearer in a statewide contest that has been out of reach for the party in recent election cycles, setting up a sharply defined general election should he secure the nomination.