Alabama state executive official elections, 2012

One state executive position was up for election in 2012 in the state of Alabama.

• Alabama Public Service Commission President

The general election took place on November 6, 2012, following a primary election on March 13th and primary runoff on April 24, 2012.

Incumbent Lucy Baxley was first elected PSC President in 2008, winning by a slim margin over fellow commissioner Twinkle Cavanaugh (R). In 2012, Cavanaugh challenged Baxley to a rematch, and successfully unseated Baxley in the general election. Baxley was the former lieutenant governor and state treasurer of Alabama. In 2012, she was the only the Democrat that held statewide office heading into the election. Cavanaugh was elected to the commission in 2010.

Both candidates said they wanted to use the position to maintain low and stable electric rates for state residents through active communication with Alabama's major utilities and PSC staff, but Cavanaugh expressed additional interest in expanding the role of PSC President. Her campaign emphasized her desire to make the office a leader in job creation and economic stimulation. Cavanaugh previously served as Alabama Republican Party chairwoman and had said that Baxley's allegiance to President Obama and the Democratic Party was a signal of the incumbent's lesser qualification to address the state's economic issues, especially with regard to stagnancy.

The powers of the Alabama PSC are limited to regulating electric and gas utilities, since a 2005 deregulation law, coupled with the proliferation of cellular phones, severely restricted the agency's influence and ability to raise rates.

Baxley said her challenger's plan to use the position to promote job creation was misguided and poised to cause friction with the governor and the state's Department of Commerce, who would see the commission's increased involvement in jobs as “just trying to cash in on their good news.”

General

Democratic incumbent Lucy Baxley was defeated by fellow member of the PSC Twinkle Cavanaugh (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

November 6 General election candidates:

Lucy Baxley Incumbent

Twinkle Cavanaugh

Alabama Public Service Commission President General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Twinkle Cavanaugh	54.2%	1,078,108
	Democratic	Lucy Baxley Incumbent	45.8%	909,323
Total Votes				1,987,431
Election Results via Alabama Secretary of State.

Primary

The primary was held on March 13. Incumbent Lucy Baxley (D), seeking re-election as President of the Alabama Public Service Commission, was unopposed in the primary. Three Republicans battled for their party's nomination.

March 13 Democratic primary candidates:

• Lucy Baxley a Incumbent Baxley was first elected in 2008 and is serving in her first term.

March 13 GOP primary candidates:

• Twinkle Cavanaugh a Cavanaugh At the time of the election, Cavanaugh was a member of the Public Service Commission. She was first elected in 2010.
• Kathy Peterson
• Chip Brown

Since no candidate secured over 50 percent of the vote, the top-two vote getters - Twinkle Cavanaugh and Chip Brown - headed to a runoff election on April 24.

Alabama Public Service Commission President - Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Twinkle Cavanaugh	48.9%	248,297
Chip Brown	26.7%	135,568
Kathy Peterson	24.4%	123,729
Total Votes		507,594
Election Results Via: The Alabama Secretary of State

In the primary runoff, Cavanaugh defeated Brown.

Alabama Public Service Commission President - Republican Primary Runoff, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Twinkle Cavanaugh	60.8%	52,371
Chip Brown	39.2%	33,734
Total Votes		86,105

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
Jan 13	Signature filing deadline
March 2	Voter registration deadline for primary
March 8	Last day to apply for an absentee ballot for primary
March 12	Last day to hand deliver or postmark an absentee ballot for primary
March 13	Primary election
April 13	Voter registration deadline for primary runoff
April 19	Last day to apply for an absentee ballot for primary runoff
April 23	Last day to hand deliver or postmark in absentee ballot for primary runoff
April 24	Primary runoff election (if necessary)
Oct 26	Voter registration deadline for general election
Nov 1	Last day to apply for an absentee ballot for general
Nov 5	Last day to hand deliver or postmark and absentee ballot for general
Nov 6	General election

Election history

• 2008 General Election
  • Baxley won election in the November 2008 election, defeating Republican candidate Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh.

Alabama Public Service Commission President, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lucy Baxley	50.3%	1,014,091
	Republican	Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh	49.6%	1,001,643
Total Votes				2,017,933

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term "Alabama + Public + Service + Commission + Election"

All stories may not be relevant due to the nature of the search engine.

Alabama Public Service Commission Election News Feed

• Lawmakers vote to lift cap on political contributions by corporations, make ... - Press-Register - al.com (blog)
• The Uses of Scandal - The American
• High court to weigh in on legislative prayers - Alabama's13.com
• Sponsor: Still work to do on campaign finance bill - al.com (blog)
• Senator: Corporate contribution limits may end - Houston Chronicle
• We dare defend our rights against Alabama's big utilities (Guest column) - al.com
• People in business - The Tennessean
• Indiana gets a zero in study of states' campaign finance disclosure laws for ... - Indianapolis Star
• John Archibald: Some things go fast, some things go slow - WBHM
• State Roundup - Annuity Outlook Magazine

See also

• Alabama Public Service Commission
• Statewide elections, 2012
• State executive official elections, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Alabama Secretary of State Elections Division
• Alabama Votes - Official Election Center
• Alabama Public Service Commission president race is for last seat held by a Democrat Sept. 23