Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (born March 10, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the

Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It has been the dominant political party in Alabama since the late 20th century. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. ...

, she served as president of the

Alabama Public Service Commission The Alabama Public Service Commission, commonly called the PSC, was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1915 to primarily replace the State Railroad Commission. The PSC's responsibility was expanded in 1920 to include regulatin ...

(PSC) from 2012 to 2025.

Career

Cavanaugh served as the chair of the Alabama Republican Party from 2005 to 2007. She was first elected to the PSC in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and was elected as PSC president in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, defeating incumbent Democratic president

Lucy Baxley Lucy Mae Bruner Baxley Smith (December 21, 1937 – October 14, 2016) was an American politician who served from 2003 to 2007 as the 28th lieutenant governor of Alabama and from 2008 to 2012 as president of the Alabama Public Service Commission. ...

. Under her leadership, the PSC has been criticized for its failure to improve high energy prices in the state. She ran for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, but ultimately lost to

Will Ainsworth Will Ainsworth (born March 22, 1981) is an American politician serving as the 31st lieutenant governor of Alabama since 2019. He previously served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2014 to 2018, representing its 27th district. Ainsw ...

. In 2025, she was appointed to be the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

state director of rural development by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. She resigned as PSC president on June 1.

Personal life

She is married to Jeff Cavanaugh, and has three children.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanaugh, Twinkle Andress Alabama Republicans Living people Members of the Alabama Public Service Commission United States Department of Agriculture officials