Photo by Jon Anderson
Helena Duncan, president of the Business Council of Alabama, speaks to the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
2026 is a critical election year for Alabama, the president of the Business Council of Alabama told the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
With the state getting a new governor, new lieutenant governor and new attorney general, there is a lot at stake, particularly for the business community, Helena Duncan told the Hoover chamber in its February luncheon at the Hoover Country Club.
“This is such a crucial election year, probably one of the most crucial we’ve had in many years in Alabama’s history, she said.
The business community in Alabama has made a lot of gains in recent years in terms investments into energy and roads, grants for land development, and workforce development, Duncan said.
“All of this stuff will be for naught if we’re not electing the right people into these offices,” she said.
“Things have to happen for us to continue the momentum,” she added in comments after her address. “Making sure we are electing pro-business people that believe in pro-growth, pro-jobs, and that can help us continue to keep the momentum that we’ve already started. Everybody in the statehouse is part of that process. We just need to make sure that the support stays in place and the people that see the vision remain in place.”
The Business Council of Alabama, formed 41 years ago, has had a good track record recently with getting its favored candidates elected, Duncan said. In the 2022 primaries, 90% of its favored candidates won election, and in the general election, 97% of its favored candidates won, she said.
Historically, the Business Council of Alabama has backed incumbents 90 to 92% of the time, but this year, it’s a different story, she said. The organization this year is supporting incumbents in only 67% of the state races, she said.
The Business Council has been doing a deep dive, looking at both voting records and what legislators are doing for businesses in their local communities, she said.
The decisions being made are not about politics, Duncan said. The Business Council of Alabama doesn’t make decisions based on which party label a candidate wears, she said. The key question is whether their platform supports growth of the economy, she said.
“Hoover’s role is to get engaged and pay attention,” Duncan said. “It’s important for you to lock in on what is happening in Montgomery, to what decisions are being made.”
One of the hottest topics of discussion in Montgomery right now is proposed legislation that would make members of the Alabama Public Service Commission, which regulates public utilities, appointed rather than elected by the general public.
Duncan said the Public Service Commission is the only regulatory agency in Alabama with members elected by the public.
“We’re complaining about prices, and we’re complaining about how things are being handled, and that’s under an elected situation,” she said. “So are we willing to try something different?”
Duncan said there are a lot of “distractions” on social media fighting against that legislation and against the current methods of utility regulation, but “you really need to know the facts and not just take what you are seeing.
“I know for a fact we’ve got outside environmentalists who are trying to control the regulatory process, as they’ve done in Georgia, and it’s a mess,” she said. “We’re putting things in place to combat things, but influencers on social media are running the narrative a different way. We shouldn’t allow outside influencers to determine what happens inside of our state.”
Opponents of the Public Service Commission legislation have said it will do little to lower Alabama’s region-leading residential energy prices and remove accountability from the regulatory process.
When asked specifically why the Public Service Commission legislation would be a good thing, Duncan said Thursday she would email a statement about it later the same day, but the email was never received.
Regarding the top state offices up for grabs, the Business Council of Alabama is supporting Tommy Tuberville for governor, Wes Allen for lieutenant governor and Jay Mitchell for attorney general, Duncan said.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Helena Duncan, president of the Business Council of Alabama, talks with Hoover Councilman Steve McClinton after speaking to the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
