A coalition of Alabama business leaders has announced support for Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate in his campaign for Lt. Governor in 2026, citing his record as a business owner and commitment to economic growth.

The group, called Business Partners for Rick Pate, launched this week and is actively recruiting other leaders from across the state. Members say they back Pate because he is the only candidate in the race with decades of firsthand experience founding, expanding, and operating a company.

“The business community needs a doer, not a talker serving as lieutenant governor, and Rick Pate is the only candidate who has signed the front of a paycheck so others can sign the back,” said coalition member Ken Upchurch, chairman and CEO of W.K. Upchurch Construction.

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