On April 10, Kay Ivey became Governor of Alabama. She had been Lieutenant Governor, and the governor elected in 2014, Robert Bentley, recently resigned. Ivey is Alabama’s second woman governor. The first was Lurleen Wallace, wife of George Wallace. Lurleen was elected Governor in 1966. George Wallace was not permitted to run for re-election in 1966, due to term limits, so he arranged to help elect his wife.

It is not known if Governor Ivey feels that the state should hold a special U.S. Senate election this year. Jeff Sessions resigned as U.S. Senator from Alabama earlier this year, to become Attorney General. The Alabama election law says special elections should be held “forthwith”, but Governor Bentley opposed a special election for that seat until November 2018. The matter is currently being litigated in state court.

Here is the wikipedia page for Kay Ivey.