In 2008, Baxley was elected President of the Alabama Public Service Commission, and was the only Democrat to win statewide that year.

[1] Until Doug Jones's swearing in after winning a 2017 U.S. Senate special election, Baxley had been the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama.

[3] Baxley was born Lucy Mae Bruner in 1937 near rural Pansey, located near the larger city of Dothan in Houston County in southeastern Alabama.

[verification needed] In 1994, Baxley was elected Alabama State Treasurer, in which capacity she pursued office modernization, including the first personal computers for staffers.

[6] She also served as a delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention, which met in Chicago to renominate the Clinton-Gore ticket, which lost in Alabama.

[9] Baxley was an underdog in the general election, however, against incumbent Republican Bob Riley, trailing by as much as 30 points in some polls.

Making a political comeback in 2008, Baxley defeated Republican Twinkle A. Cavanaugh to become president of the Alabama Public Service Commission.

[14] In each of her campaigns for office, Baxley utilized media bearing the title of the iconic CBS situation comedy starring Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy.

Following the advice of her neurologist, Baxley did not return to Montgomery to preside over the opening of the Senate, her last official duty as lieutenant governor.