Alabama State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, a Dekalb County native, says he is seriously considering a bid for governor in 2010. Sparks has already set up a campaign committee and has a website, saying he expects to make a decision in about five or six weeks. Sparks says he plans to run for statewide office in the next election and is leaning toward governor. State law prohibits him from running for Agriculture Commissioner again.

Sparks is a Democrat from Ft. Payne who started his working career in a sock mill in Ft. Payne and became the youngest elected official in Alabama history at the age of 24 when he won a seat on the DeKalb County Commission.