State Auditor Andrew Sorrell took his first step toward running for the open seat of Secretary of State (SOS) when he announced his candidacy on February 24. He took a major second step Wednesday when he deposited $250,000 into his campaign account. It is a personal loan from himself to his campaign.
The fundraising for the 2026 Alabama elections cannot legally begin until May, one year before the Republican and Democrat primaries. On the other hand, a candidate’s personal donations and loans to the campaign can be made at any time.
Because his loan to his campaign was over $20,000, it legally required Sorrell to file a major campaign donation form with the Secretary of State's office. He did so Wednesday night.
The seat is open because incumbent Secretary of State Wes Allen is not running again. Allen has announced his candidacy for the open seat of lieutenant governor, where the incumbent, Will Ainsworth, is term-limited and cannot run again. Allen has actively hit the campaign trail for lieutenant governor.
Early campaigning and funding are often done to show a candidate's strength and ability to raise the money to spread their message. Those early signs of strength can discourage potential opponents from qualifying in a particular race.
That strategy appears to be working so far for Sorrell. He has no announced opposition at this time. The Montgomery political rumor mill, which is quite active this time in the election cycle, does not even seem to have names of potential candidates for SOS. His quarter-million-dollar campaign deposit could help Sorrell to keep it that way.
The election for Secretary of State and all other state constitutional offices is in the November 2026 general election. The May 2026 Republican primary is tantamount to the general because all of Alabama’s statewide offices are Republican, and that is not expected to change in 2026.
The start of qualifying with the Alabama Republican Party has not been announced yet. The deadline for qualifying is January 30, 2026, ten months away.
The amount of money needed to run for SOS varies widely. It appears that $300,000 to $1 million would cover the range of campaign war chests.
Sorrell says he earned the money for this loan in businesses and property he owns. The tactic of lending himself early funds for a campaign is not new to him. He did the same thing in his races for State Representative and State Auditor.
Sorrell is a successful “serial entrepreneur.” He started his first company at age sixteen and currently owns part or all of four Alabama-based businesses, employing twenty people. He also owns multiple rental properties, commercial and residential.
Sorrell attended Muscle Shoals High School, graduating in 2004. He completed his four-year degree in Business Management at the University of North Alabama in less than two years in July 2006.
When elected State Auditor, Sorrell was a 37-year-old business start-up guy, private pilot, Eagle Scout, and State Representative from House District 3 in Colbert, Lauderdale and Lawrence Counties. After serving one term in the legislature, he ran for State Auditor and was elected in November 2022.
Andrew is married to Hannah, whom he met on a bus in Rome, Italy, in May 2016 while on a church mission trip. By the end of the 17-day mission, they were already discussing marriage and were married in June 2017. They have two daughters.
As the son, grandson, and great-grandson of preachers, Sorrell’s Christian conservative upbringing helped shape his political philosophy. Andrew considers himself a Christian first and a conservative second.
1819 News reached out to Sorrell for a comment.
“I remain committed to running a grassroots campaign and discussing the issues important to voters—namely, cleaning up our voter rolls, expanding the Alabama Voter Integrity Database, and opening a new Division of Election Integrity in the Secretary of State’s office," he said.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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