Democratic AG nominee Jeff McLaughlin keeps low profile in statewide race

While the Republican campaigns to succeed Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall drew major attention and millions of dollars in spending, the Democratic candidate for the office, Jeff McLaughlin, has largely remained in the shadows.

The former state representative has virtually no visible presence and does not even appear to have a campaign website. According to campaign finance filings, McLaughlin has not raised any money to fund his campaign, which may reflect a longstanding refusal to accept contributions.

Multiple requests for comment were left over the past two weeks to reach McLaughlin at his office and his campaign staff.

Tabitha Isner, vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, said that McLaughlin’s campaign is active.

“It would not be the first time that McLaughlin has won an election while not spending any money,” she said.

McLaughlin, an attorney and former law partner of Marshall’s, served in the Alabama House from 2000 to 2010, where he became a strong advocate of campaign finance reform, particularly a ban on what was then the legal practice of PAC-to-PAC transfers, which could conceal a politician’s source of financial support. The Legislature passed a law banning the transfers and bearing his name after he left the House.

McLaughlin also made a point of not accepting campaign contributions. He told The Huntsville Times in 2002 that he believed the practice allowed him to maintain his independence.

“I know that I can’t change (the system) by myself, but I feel I can make a positive influence,” he said.

Speaking to the Press-Register in 2010, McLaughlin said that he believed “money given is money owed.”

“I don’t think everyone who makes a contribution does it for selfish reasons,” he said. “But it can be a slippery slope. And when you get into tens of thousands of dollars, there are always strings attached.”

McLaughlin lost re-election to the House to Republican Wes Long in 2010. He sought re-election to the seat in 2014, losing to Will Ainsworth, currently the state’s lieutenant governor. He campaigned for mayor of Guntersville in 2025, losing to incumbent Leigh Dollar in a runoff election after the two candidates each received the same number of votes in the August election.

The three Republican candidates for the office spent millions in the lead-up to the May 19 primary. Deputy Attorney General Katherine Robertson, won the nomination in a June runoff, defeating former Associate Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell.

Both candidates, along with Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey, featured campaign websites and regularly sent news releases to the media to provide updates to their campaigns.

By contrast, the top online search result for McLaughlin’s candidacy is a page on the website Ballotpedia.

Gary Jacobson, a retired professor of politics at the University of California at San Diego, said that it was a precarious strategy.

“It is extremely important, especially if nobody knows who you are,” Jacobson said about fundraising. “If voters never heard of you, they don’t vote for you. If they don’t know anything about you, they tend to not vote for you.”