Alabama Republican Party

Alabama affiliate of the Republican Party

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Alabama Republican Party" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Alabama Republican Party

Chairperson| John Wahl
Governor| Kay Ivey
Senate leader| Garlan Gudger
House speaker| Nathaniel Ledbetter
Chief Justice| Sarah Hicks Stewart
Founded| 1867
Headquarters| 3505 Lorna Road
Birmingham
Ideology| Conservatism
National affiliation| Republican Party
Colors|  Red
Senate|

27 / 35

House of Representatives|

75 / 105

State Board of Education|

7 / 9

Statewide Executive Offices|

7 / 7

Supreme Court of Alabama|

9 / 9

U.S. Senate|

2 / 2

U.S. House of Representatives|

5 / 7

Election symbol
Website
algop.org

* Politics of Alabama
* Elections

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. The committee usually meets twice a year. As of the February 23, 2019 meeting in Birmingham, the committee is composed of 463 members.[1] Most of the committee's members are elected in district elections across Alabama. The district members are elected in the Republican Primary once every four years, with the most recent election for the committee having been on June 5, 2018. The new committee takes office following the general election in November 2018. In addition, all 67 county GOP chairmen have automatic seats as voting members. The state chairman can appoint 10 members. Each county committee can appoint bonus members (maximum of 5 per county) based on a formula that theoretically could add 312 seats, although that formula currently calls for only about 50 seats.

The Alabama Republican Executive Committee has several important functions. Every two years the committee elects the state chairman, vice chairmen, the secretary and the treasurer as well as other members of a steering committee. Together, they have responsibility for administering the day-to-day operations of the party. The committee also sets election rules for the statewide Republican primary and has oversight responsibilities for the 67 county parties. The committee also elects The national committeeman (currently Paul Reynolds, since 2008) and national committeewoman (currently Vicki A. Drummond, since 2012) to serve on the Republican National Committee from Alabama. In addition, Vicki Drummond serves as the secretary of the Republican National Committee.[2] Once every four years the committee selects the GOP slate for U.S. presidential electors and chooses alternate delegates to the GOP National Convention.

## History

[edit]

The Republicans held their first statewide convention on June 4, 1867, and John Keffer, a Freedmen's Bureau agent, was made the first party's first chair.[3] The party's entire state and congressional slate in the 1868 election was white.[4]

### The founding of the Alabama GOP (1854–1867)

[edit]

When the Republican Party was first organized in 1854 as an anti-slavery party, it did not compete in southern states such as Alabama. In its first three presidential elections (including 1864, in which Alabama did not participate due to the Civil War), the party did not even distribute ballots in Alabama for its presidential candidate. (At the time, ballots were not printed by the government, but were distributed by parties for their supporters to drop into ballot boxes). After the Civil War and following Alabama's readmission to the union in 1868, Alabama was a Republican dominated state for much of the Reconstruction period due to a combination of factors including its support from north Alabama unionists, poor white farmers who had never owned slaves, and the newly enfranchised black voters. Republican Ulysses S. Grant carried the state in both the 1868 and 1872 presidential elections.

One of the organizations that became the initial Alabama GOP, the Union League, first came into north Alabama in 1863 as counties fell back under Union control during The Civil War. In early 1867, local Republicans gathered in several different meetings around the state. The first was in Moulton, on January 8 and 9 in Lawrence County, then March meetings in both Huntsville and Decatur, a gathering on March 25 in Montgomery, and then May 1 in Mobile, all for the purpose of organizing an early summer state convention to create a state Republican Party. In a simultaneous meeting with the Union League, the Republican Party of Alabama was initially organized on June 4–5, 1867. That first state convention was held in the capital city of Montgomery in the chambers of the Alabama House of Representatives. That convention was called the Union Republican Convention and consisted of 150 delegates, of whom 100 were black. Alabama Governor Robert M. Patton spoke to the convention. Francis W. Sykes of Lawrence County was elected as chairman pro tempore, and Judge William Hugh Smith of Randolph County was named permanent chairman of the convention. The convention's delegates were mostly from two groups, the Freedmen's Bureau (which included and/or represented most of Alabama's black citizens) and the Union League which represented about the 1/3 of north Alabama's white citizens who had remained as loyalists in the Civil War or had otherwise opposed secession in 1861.

The convention adopted what was considered a liberal platform for the time including "equal rights for all men without distinction of color." The convention also endorsed the platform of the National Republican Party and supported free public education for all Alabamians. The convention established the first State Republican Executive Committee of 24 members. It included 12 prominent native Alabamians whom had mostly been unionists. The other members included three carpetbaggers, five African-Americans, and four otherwise unaffiliated and unidentified individuals.[5]

### Early history (1868–1890)

[edit]

In 1868, William Hugh Smith was elected to a single two-year term as the state's first Republican governor. That same year saw Republican Andrew Applegate elected as the first-ever lieutenant governor of Alabama under the state's newly adopted constitution of 1867. That first post Civil War legislature under the new constitution was elected in February, 1868, with a 100-member House of Representatives (two-year terms) composed of 97 Republicans and 3 Democrats. The State Senate (four-year terms) was even more lopsided, with a single Democrat to its 32 Republicans.[6] The 1868 legislature also included 27 Black Republicans, the first minority members in Alabama history. All but one were members of the House of Representatives. That same year Benjamin F. Royal (1868–1875) of Bullock County became the first black state senator in Alabama history.[7] That Republican-controlled legislature passed a resolution on November 24, 1869, approving the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing black men the right to vote in Alabama. Governor Smith was defeated for re-election in 1870, garnering 49.5% of the vote and losing by a margin of just 1,439 votes. Although the Senate was not up for re-election that year, Democrats retook the House with 57 seats to the Republicans 38 seats, of which 19 were African-American Republicans.[8]

After Republicans spent a single term out of the governor's office, David P. Lewis was elected as the state's second GOP governor, winning 89,020 to 78,524 over his Democratic opponent. He served from 1872 to 1874.[9] His GOP lieutenant governor was Alexander McKinstry.[10] During Governor Lewis' term, disputed election results produced two competing legislatures, one with a Democratic majority and the other a Republican majority. After this dispute was ultimately settled, Republicans had a 2-seat majority in the House and Democrats a 1-seat majority in the Senate. Again, this 1872 legislature included 24 African-American Republican members with 5 being in the Senate.[11] The 1874 legislature would see only 13 Republican Senators and House membership at 40. However, this legislature would hit a high-water mark for minority representation with 33 African-American Republicans. The 1876 election would result in 18 members (7 of which were African-American) being elected to the House and only 4 Republicans to the Senate. Republicans would be reduced to just 8 members in the House in the 1878 election. Following the 1880 election Republicans held only a single seat in the Alabama House with the election of Benjamin M. Long from Walker County.[8][12] In fact, Walker County had a strong Republican Party for much of the remainder of the 19th century.

Republican representation in the legislature and other public offices had declined rapidly after the 1875 Constitution was adopted. That document began the process of restricting black voter participation and expanding all forms of Jim Crow laws. Further orchestrated efforts at voter intimidation, lynchings, vote fraud, and the inability of differing Republican factions to work together all doomed the party to long-term failure. After the 1878 election no black, and few Republicans, would be elected to the legislature again until the 1970s.

During this same Reconstruction period three African-American Republicans were elected to the United States Congress from Alabama. They were Benjamin Turner (42nd Congress), James T. Rapier (43rd Congress) and Jeremiah Haralson (44th Congress). However, the first Republican Congressmen from Alabama were elected in 1868. They were Charles W. Buckley (40th and 41st Congress'), Francis W. Kellogg, Benjamin W. Norris, Charles W. Pierce, John B. Callis, and Thomas Haughey who would be assassinated in Alabama while giving a speech. The first Republican Senators from Alabama were Willard Warner (1868–1871) and George E. Spencer (1868–1879)[13] who were both elected by the legislature before adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

### Alabama Republicans and the Populists (1890–1916)

[edit]

By the late 1890s, a coalition between the Populist Party and the Republican Party often produced "fusion tickets", that combined forces in several subsequent elections to win control of several of Alabama hill counties in this era. They were most dominant in Marshall, St. Clair, Shelby, and Chilton Counties. Between 1892 and 1932 Shelby County was usually closely contested under the leadership of A. P. Longshore. Marshall County elected Republican Thomas Kennamer in 1896 to the Alabama House of Representatives. DeKalb County voted in 1896 for GOP Presidential candidate William McKinley. Chilton County was decidedly Republican between 1900 and 1912, including electing Lewis W. Reynolds as a Republican Probate Judge in 1904 and again in 1916. S. J. Petree was elected as a Republican Probate Judge in Franklin County in 1910; C. C. Scheuing was elected Cullman County Sheriff in 1910; J. B. Sloan was elected as a Republican to the State Senate from a district made up of Blount, Cullman, and Winston Counties. In 1910, J. J. Curtis of Winston County became the first Republican Circuit Judge (for Winston & Walker Counties) in Alabama since Reconstruction.[12]

In this time period, in the 54th United States Congress, two brothers, Truman H. Aldrich (1896–1897) and William F. Aldrich (1896–1897), both served as Republicans. William Aldrich also served in the 55th Congress (1898–99) and the 56th Congress (1900–01) with the unusual distinction of having been seated all three times in disputed elections ultimately decided by Congress itself.[13] After William Aldrich left Congress in 1901, no Republican would be elected again until 1964.

### Post Office Republicans (1916–1962)

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Following the end of the populist era, Republicans effectively competed in just a few isolated hill counties, mostly in north Alabama. While the Reconstruction period saw their strongest voting base in the Black Belt counties, Republicans during this period relied on the north Alabama counties that had never been strong proponents of the institution of slavery. The GOP garnered its support from a coalition of small farmers, blacks, labor, prohibitionists, etc. Again, these were often voters primarily from counties across the northern width of the state like Lawrence, Blount, Cullman, Walker, Winston, and DeKalb counties. Many of these counties regularly elected some Republicans to local office or occasionally to the state legislature well into the 1920s. However, only Winston County reliably elected Republicans to almost all offices as the county had attempted to secede from Alabama during the Civil War and has always been considered ancestrally Republican. During this prolonged period the Alabama GOP atrophied as a political party and became heavily dependent on federal patronage for its existence. The federal appointments during Republican administrations in Washington for such offices as local postmasters, U.S. Attorneys, and federal judgeships became the only real presence of a Republican Party to most of the state. The state party usually returned thanks for this patronage by pledging its National Convention delegates to the supporting administration, thus making control of the party only about seats at the National Conventions and the issue of patronage. This situation caused its members to be derisively called "Post Office Republicans" both inside and outside of the party. Since most of the party's effort and energy was to securing those federal offices rather than trying to win actual election at the ballot box the party almost died completely by the late 1950s. The most important and prominent of these Republican appointees would occur when President Eisenhower appointed Winston County's Frank M. Johnson[14] to a Federal District Judgeship. Ironically, Johnson's frequent pro civil rights rulings from the bench would make him a hero to liberal Democrats and widely disliked in his own party. Johnson's owe father had briefly served in the state legislature as a Republican from 1942 to 1944.[15]

### The Goldwater Landslide and the modern GOP (1962–1972)

[edit]

The modern Republican Party in Alabama traces its roots back to the election of John Grenier as State Party Chairman in 1962.[16] That year Grenier with the support of the Alabama Young Republicans forced long-time Chairman Claude O. Vardaman into retirement without a contest. Grenier, along with a new generation of political activists played leading roles in re-organizing the party and moving beyond the "Post Office Republican" era. Determined to change the focus back to winning elections they recruited serious candidates for Congress in 1962. That year they nearly toppled U.S. Senator Lister Hill with the candidacy of James D. Martin[17] in a controversial race that Republicans have always maintained was "stolen" in the dead of the night. Two years later most of those same candidates for Congress would run again in 1964, resulting in a Republican sweep of five of Alabama's eight congressional seats with victories by Jack Edwards, Glenn Andrews, James D. Martin, John Buchanan and Bill Dickinson.[17] Martin would give up his congressional seat two years later in an unsuccessful run for Governor against Lurleen Wallace, but the GOP would hold three of the congressional seats for decades to come. That election, commonly referred to in Alabama as "The Goldwater Landslide" would see the GOP win several dozen local offices. It also included the election of Probate Judges in Cullman County named Guy Hunt and Perry O. Hooper, Sr., in Montgomery County. Both would later go on to greater electoral successes. The 1964 election is credited as partially laying the foundations for Alabama's modern Republican Party. Among the party's other prominent officeholders in the period was George G. Siebels, Jr. who served two terms as Mayor of Birmingham from 1967 to 1975. In 1968, the party went through a nasty internal struggle for Alabama's seat on the Republican National Committee. John Grenier would lose that contest to Jim Martin. It would take many years to heal the rift the bitter race had caused between two old friends and their respective supporters in the party.

### Statewide primary and the 1986 election (1972–2010)

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

In 1972, the state party made a historic change from a state convention nominating system for all candidates to having a statewide party primary. This allowed voters to directly choose all nominees for public and party offices with its main goal being to broaden public support for the party. It would only slowly have that desired effect. In 1978, the party would begin its long steady build-up to competing for seats in the legislature by winning a few seats in suburban Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery. In 1980, Jeremiah Denton became the first popularly elected Republican U. S. Senator in Alabama history after first winning that new statewide primary.

In 1982, Emory Folmar who would serve as Mayor of Montgomery (1977–1999) would make the party's first serious run for Governor since Martin in 1966. However, four years later in 1986, the wisdom of the change to a primary finally paid huge dividends for the GOP. Guy Hunt in a very unusual election would defeat the Democrat with 57% of the vote in the governor's race. Hunt had been chosen in a statewide primary and the Democrat's disqualified their nominee claiming he had "unfairly" won their primary. Voters rewarded the GOP by electing Guy Hunt. Hunt's election is widely viewed as effectively making Alabama a two-party state even though Republicans only made very modest legislative gains that year. The victory in the governor's race in 1986 was the first Republican win in a statewide constitutional office since Reconstruction, ending 114 years of Democratic control. Almost immediately the party became focused on winning the other statewide races (lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, commissioner of agriculture and the Public Service Commission). In 1994, Perry O. Hooper, Sr. would defeat the incumbent Democratic chief justice of Alabama in another controversial race. That same year Republicans increased their total in the Alabama House of Representatives from 24 to 31 seats. Legislative membership continued to modestly climb each cycle and Republicans began winning other statewide offices. Republicans also won the state auditor's race and the secretary of state's office.

### Republican dominance (2010–present)

[edit]

The move to GOP hegemony in the statewide offices occurred fairly quickly. In the November 2010 general election 136 years of Democratic control of the Alabama state legislature finally came to an end. That day, the GOP won large majorities in both chambers gaining 17 seats in the House and 11 in the State Senate. Within another two weeks four additional House seats moved to the GOP column as four self-styled conservatives bolted from the Democrats to the GOP just after they had been re-elected. Over the four-year term that followed another Democratic incumbent in the Senate would switch to being Republican as well as two more Democratic House members joining the GOP.

Also, in the 2010 general election Republicans swept all statewide races electing Robert J. Bentley as governor and Kay Ivey defeating the Democratic incumbent in the lieutenant governor's race. Republicans have won seven of the last eight governors races dating back to 1986. In 2012 Democrats lost the last statewide office still in their possession.

On April 10, 2017, Lt. Governor Kay Ivey became Alabama's 54th Governor upon the resignation of Robert J. Bentley. She became the second woman in Alabama history to hold the governorship.

As of 2021, Republicans hold both of Alabama's U.S. Senate seats and six of its seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Until December 2017, no Democrat had been elected to the U. S. Senate from the state since 1992 when Richard Shelby was elected to a second term. Shelby switched parties in 1994 and has since been re-elected easily. On December 12, 2017, Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Nominee Roy Moore in a special election, and took office on January 3, 2018.[18] He was defeated by Tommy Tuberville on November 3, 2020.

The GOP has won six consecutive races for attorney general dating back to 1994. Six of the eight seats on the State Board of Education have elected Republicans. The Alabama Supreme Court, State Appeals Courts, and the rest of the state judiciary are moving decisively to Republican dominance. All nine Supreme Court justices and the ten judges who sit on the two statewide appellate courts are all Republicans. The partisan line-up of Circuit Judges following the 2016 general election consists of 82 Republicans and 66 Democrats. However, the Democrats judgeships are increasing limited to urban area as 34 of their 66 judgeships are in just Jefferson and Montgomery counties, while the GOP judgeships are spread among 38 different counties. As of October 2017, the GOP has a majority on the district courts with 62 seats to the Democrats 42. It is all the more dramatic when one considers that there were less than one half dozen GOP judges in Alabama prior to 1986.

As of March 1, 2016, of the 351 county commissioners in Alabama's 67 counties, the partisan breakdown is 183 Republicans and 168 Democrats. 37 Courthouses had Republican majority County Commissions, 28 had Democratic majorities, and 2 were evenly split.[19] Of Alabama's 67 elected county school boards, the breakdown of seats heading into the 2016 General Election is 201 Republicans and 172 Democrats. However, the GOP has a majority on 33 of those boards and the Democrats also have a majority on 33 with one remaining board being evenly split in Pike County.

## Party chairman and officers

[edit]

The chairman of the Alabama Republican Party is John Wahl of Limestone County. He was elected without opposition on February 27, 2021, at the Winter Meeting of the Party in Montgomery, Alabama. He had served the prior two years as Senior Vice Chairman. He was succeeded as Senior Vice Chairman by John Skipper of Mobile County who was elected immediately following Wahl's election.

The secretary of the Alabama Republican Party also elected on February 27, 2021, is Carol Jahns of Prattville Autauga County. She succeeded Josh Dodd of Lauderdale County who served a single two-year term in the post. The party treasurer is Sallie Bryant of Jefferson County who has held the post since mid-2017 and was re-elected in both 2019 and 2021. The longest-serving chairman in state party history was Claude O. Vardaman of Birmingham, who held the post for twenty years from 1942 to 1962. The first chairman of the Alabama GOP was John C. Keffer (1867) of Montgomery, who was an agent for the Freedmen's Bureau.

## Current elected officials

[edit]

### Members of Congress

[edit]

#### U.S. Senate

[edit]

Republicans have controlled Alabama's Class III seat in the U.S. Senate since 1994 when incumbent Senator Richard Shelby switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Shelby was subsequently re-elected to a third term in 1998:

* Senior U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville

* Junior U.S. Senator Katie Britt

#### U.S. House of Representatives

[edit]

Out of the 7 seats Alabama is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 5 are held by Republicans:

* AL-01: Barry Moore
* AL-03: Mike D. Rogers
* AL-04: Robert Aderholt
* AL-05: Dale Strong
* AL-06: Gary Palmer

### Statewide Constitutional Offices

[edit]

Republicans control all seven of the elected statewide offices:

* Governor: Kay Ivey
* Lieutenant Governor: Will Ainsworth
* Attorney General: Steve Marshall
* Secretary of State: Wes Allen
* State Auditor: Andrew Sorrell
* State Treasurer: Young Boozer
* Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries: Rick Pate

### Statewide Statutory Offices

[edit]

* Alabama Public Service Commission
* President - Cynthia Almond
* Associate Commissioner - Place 1 - Jeremy H. Oden
* Associate Commissioner - Place 2 - Chris "Chip" Beeker, Jr.

### Supreme Court of Alabama

[edit]

* Chief Justice: Sarah Hicks Stewart
* Associate Justice: Brady E. Mendheim Jr.
* Associate Justice: Tommy Bryan
* Associate Justice: William Sellers
* Associate Justice: Bill Lewis
* Associate Justice: Alisa Kelli Wise
* Associate Justice: Greg Shaw
* Associate Justice: Chris McCool
* Associate Justice: Greg Cook

### Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

[edit]

* William C. Thompson, Presiding Judge
* Christy O. Edwards
* Matt Fridy
* Chad Arthur Hanson
* Terry A. Moore

### Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

[edit]

* Mary Becker Windom, Presiding Judge
* Richard J. Minor
* J. Elizabeth Kellum
* J. Chris McCool
* James William "Bill" Cole

### State Legislature

[edit]

* Senate
* Current senators
* President Pro Tempore of the Senate: Garlan Gudger (SD4)
* Senate Majority Leader: Steve Livingston (SD8)
* House of Representatives
* Current representatives
* Speaker of the House: Nathaniel Ledbetter (HD24)
* Speaker Pro Tempore: Chris Pringle (HD101)
* House Majority Leader: Scott Stadthagen (HD9)

## Recent election cycles

[edit]

### 2014

[edit]

Republicans held onto every seat in their legislative majority in 2014. In fact, increasing their numbers again in both chambers by defeating incumbent Democrats and winning open seats. They added three State Senate seats to hold 26 to just 8 Democrats and 1 Independent. In the House they added five more seats taking their majority to 72 seats for the GOP and just 33 for the Democrats. Yet as recently as 1977, there were no Republicans in either chamber of the Alabama Legislature until a lone seat in Mobile County was won that year in a special election. In 2014, Governor Bentley received almost 64% of the vote, leading a sweep of all statewide offices that also included the re-election of Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey, the state's first female Republican Lieutenant Governor. GOP U.S. Senator, Jeff Sessions was unopposed for a fourth term, the first time in state history that Democrats failed to produce a nominee.

### 2016

[edit]

The GOP Presidential nominee, Donald Trump, handily carried the state in 2016 taking 62.1% of the vote over Hillary Clinton. This was the 10th straight GOP Presidential nominee to carry the state; the last Democrats to carry Alabama were Jimmy Carter in 1976 and John F. Kennedy in 1960. However, Carter only received a plurality of the vote and Kennedy only received 5 of the 11 Electoral Votes of the state with the other six going to Virginia U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd. Senator Richard Shelby was re-elected that year as well as the state's six Republican congressman.

### 2018

[edit]

In the November 6, 2018, general election, Republicans swept to an easy victory in every statewide contest with Governor Kay Ivey winning a full term with over 59% of the vote. Will Ainsworth received over 60% in the lieutenant governor's race and Tom Parker defeated Democrat Bob Vance, Jr. by more than 15 points in the race for Chief Justice. Democrats also lost another five seats in the Alabama House of Representatives making the new lineup to be 77 Republicans and 28 Democrats. Republicans held all their seats in both legislative chambers and also added one additional seat in the State Senate making the upper chambers partisan alignment to be 27 Republicans and 8 Democrats.[20]

### 2020

[edit]

In the November 3, 2020, general election, Alabama had a 62.19% turnout. President Trump carried Alabama with 62.15% of the vote, making it the 11th straight Republican presidential victory in the state. In the U.S. Senate race, Tommy Tuberville defeated U.S. Senator Doug Jones with 60.21%. Jones 39.62% was the weakest percentage for an incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator in Alabama since the direct election of U.S. Senators began in 1914. Republicans easily won all six U.S. Representative races in which they fielded candidates. This included 64.88% in the open 1st District with the election of Jerry Carl and the open 2nd District where GOP nominee, Barry Moore received 65.30%. Republicans won all the statewide races. This included both seats on the Alabama Supreme Court, two seats on the Court of Civil Appeals, and two seats on the Court of Criminal Appeals, in which the Democrats had failed to field candidates. Only in the statewide race for the Presidency of the Public Service Commission did the Democrats run a candidate. That individual lost to the incumbent Republican, Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, who won a third term with 62.09% of the vote.[20]

### 2022

[edit]

In the November 8, 2022, general election Republicans swept all statewide elections. They maintained overwhelming control of the state legislature capturing 28 of the 35 State Senate seats and also held 77 of the 105 State House seats. Governor Kay Ivey won a second full term winning 66.93% of the vote over the Democratic nominee and a Libertarian candidate. Long-time U.S. Senator Richard Shelby did not seek re-election. He was succeeded by Katie Britt who captured 66.64% of the vote becoming the first woman "elected" from the state. Two women had served partial "unexpired terms" upon appointment by the governor. They were Maryon Pittman Allen (1978) and Dixie Bibb Graves (1937–38).

Alabama is one of the more staunchly Republican states in the nation. According to the Gallup polling organization, Alabama is the eighth most Republican state in the nation.[21]

## Past chairs of the Alabama Republican Party

[edit]

Chair | Years of service | County | Other facts

|
|
|

John C. Keffer | 1867 | Montgomery | founding Chrm.; Delegate, Constitutional Convention (1867); Secretary of Alabama Republican Party (1870–1872)
Benjamin White Norris | 1868–1870 | Elmore | member, 40th U. S. Congress (1868–1869)
Thomas O. Glasscock | 1870 | Montgomery | Mayor of Montgomery (1868–1870)
Gen. Robert Wallace Healy | 1870–1872 | Montgomery | U. S. Marshal (1867–1874)
DeWitt C. Whiting | 1872–1874 | Montgomery | Secretary of Alabama State Senate (1870)
Charles E. Mayer | 1874–1875 | Mobile | youngest Chairman at age 28
William Hugh Smith | 1875–1878 | Randolph | 21st Governor of Alabama (1868–1870)
John Van McDuffie | 1878- | Lowndes | member, 51st U. S. Congress (1890–1891)
George E. Turner | 1882–1884 | Montgomery | U.S. Senator, Washington State (1897–1903)
Chester Arthur Bingham, Sr. | 1884–1886? | Talladega | 9th Treasurer of Alabama (1868–1870)
Dr. Robert A. Moseley, Jr. | 1888–1896 | Talladega | Confederate Army, 41st Alabama Infantry
Dr. William A. Vaughn | 1896–1900 | Jefferson | U.S. District Attorney (1897–1902)
Julius Wester Davidson | 1901–1902 | Bibb | Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1904)
Willard I. Wellman | 1902–1904 | Madison | Huntsville's Wellman Park named in his honor in 2002.
Joseph Oswalt Thompson | 1904–1911 | Macon | GOP nominee for Governor (1910)
Pope McFarland Long | 1911–1916 | Walker | U.S. Marshal (1905–1914)
Frank S. Rea | 1918 | Jefferson? | Treasurer, Alabama Republican Party(1916–1918)
Pope McFarland Long | 1920–1922 | Walker
John M. Atkins | ? – 1923 | Cleburne | Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1916, 1924)
Alexander C. Birch | 1923–1925? | Mobile | U. S. Attorney (1927–1935)
Lewis Henry Reynolds | 1925–1927 | Chilton | U. S. Attorney (1924–1931)
Balpha Lonnie Noojin, Sr. | 1928–1931 | Etowah | GOP Natl Committeeman (1938–1950), basketball & baseball Coach, U. of Alabama (1918)
Dr. Joseph C. Swann, Sr. | 1931–1941 | Randolph | GOP Natl Committeeman (1932–1936)
Claude O. Vardaman | 1942–1962 | Jefferson | Longest serving Chairman (20 years); Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960)
John Grenier | 1962–1964 | Jefferson | Executive Director-Republican National Committee (1964–1965)
Dr. Thomas H. Bingham | 1964–1966 | Jefferson | Acting/Interim Chairman during John Grenier's involvement with Goldwater campaign
Alfred W. Goldthwaite | 1966 | Montgomery | Member, Alabama House of Representatives (1962–1966)
Charles O. Smith | 1966–1969 | Franklin | Alternate Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1956)
J. Richard "Dick" Bennett | 1969–1975 | Butler | Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1956, 1964); instrumental in creation of Capitol Club
W. Edgar Welden | 1975–1977 | Jefferson | GOP Natl Committman (1997–2008); executive director, Alabama GOP (1969–1975)
William D. "Bill" Harris | 1977–1985 | Jefferson | Chief Executive Officer, Republican National Convention (1992, 2004, 2012)
Emory M. Folmar | 1985–1989 | Montgomery | Mayor of Montgomery (1977–1999)
Arthur R. Outlaw | 1989–1990 | Mobile | Mayor of Mobile (1967–1969 and 1985–1989)
J. Elbert Peters | 1990–1991 | Madison | U.S. Presidential Elector (1988, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
Spencer T. Bachus, III | 1991–1992 | Jefferson | U.S. Congress, 6th District (1993–2015)
J. Elbert Peters | 1992–1995 | Madison
Roger E. McConnell | 1995–1999 | Mobile | past Chairman, Mobile County Executive Committee
Winton M. Blount, III | 1999–2001 | Montgomery | Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1988); prominent businessman, party activist for 40 years
Marty Connors | 2001–2005 | Shelby | Executive Director-Alabama GOP (1985–1988); Delegate, GOP Natl Convention (1992, 2004)
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh | 2005–2007 | Montgomery | Alabama Public Service Commission (2010–present) and serving as its president since 2012 when she defeated the last statewide Democratic officeholder
Mike Hubbard | 2007–2011 | Lee | Member, Alabama House of Representatives (1998–2016); Speaker of the House (2010–2016)
Bill Armistead | 2011–2015 | Shelby | Alabama State Senator (1994–2002), GOP nominee, Lt. Gov. (2002)
Terry Lathan | 2015–2021 | Mobile | past Chairman, Mobile County Executive Committee; U.S. Presidential Elector (2012)
John Wahl | 2021–present | Limestone | past Senior Vice Chairman of Alabama Republican Party (2019–2021)

## Republican governors of Alabama

[edit]

* William Hugh Smith (1868–1870)
* David P. Lewis (1872–1874)
* H. Guy Hunt (1987–1993)
* Fob James (1995–1999)
* Bob Riley (2003–2011)
* Robert J. Bentley (2011–2017)
* Kay Ivey (2017–present)

[22]

## Republican lieutenant governors of Alabama

[edit]

* Andrew Applegate (1868–1870)
* Alexander McKinstry (1872–1874)
* Steve Windom (1999–2003)
* Kay Ivey (2011–2017)
* Will Ainsworth (2019–present)

[22]

## Republican attorneys general of Alabama

[edit]

* Joshua Morse (1868–1869)
* Benjamin Gardner (1872–1873)
* Jeff Sessions (1995–1997)
* William H. Pryor, Jr. (1997–2004)
* Troy King (2004–2011)
* Luther Strange (2011–2017)
* Steve Marshall (2017–present)

[22]

## Prominent Alabama Republicans

[edit]

* Winton M. Blount, Postmaster General of the United States (1969–1972)
* William J. Cabaniss, United States Ambassador to Czech Republic (2004–2006)
* William Hooper Councill, black educator and first President of Alabama A&M University
* Jeremiah Denton, U.S. Senator (1981–1987) and war hero
* William Brevard Hand, U.S. District Judge (1971–1989)
* Frank Minis Johnson, United States District Judge (1955–1979); U.S. Court of Appeals Judge (1979–1999)
* F. David Mathews, U. S. Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare (1975–1977)
* William H. Pryor, Jr., Chief Judge, 11th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals
* Condoleezza Rice, U. S. Secretary of State (2005–2009)
* Edwina Rogers, General Counsel to the Republican National Committee (1994) and prominent Washington lobbyist
* Jeff Sessions, Attorney General of the United States (2017–2018)
* Margaret D. Tutwiler, United States Ambassador to Morocco (2001–2003)
* Booker T. Washington, educator, civil rights leader, and first President of Tuskegee University
* Heather Whitestone, Miss America (1995)

## Electoral history

[edit]

### Gubernatorial

[edit]

Alabama Republican Party gubernatorial election results  Election  | Gubernatorial candidate  | Votes  | Vote %  | Result

|
|
|
|

1994 | Fob James | 604,926  | 50.33%  | Won Y
1998 | Fob James | 546,504  | 42.08%  | Lost N
2002 | Bob Riley | 672,225  | 49.17%  | Won Y
2006 | Bob Riley | 718,327  | 57.45%  | Won Y
2010 | Robert J. Bentley | 860,472  | 57.58%  | Won Y
2014 | Robert J. Bentley | 750,231  | 63.56%  | Won Y
2018 | Kay Ivey | 1,022,457  | 59.46%  | Won Y
2022 | Kay Ivey | 946,932  | 66.91%  | Won Y

## See also

[edit]

* Political party strength in Alabama
* List of state parties of the Republican Party (United States)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Terry Lathan, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party
2. ^ Press Release, Alabama Republican Party, Terry Lathan, Chair; January 25, 2019
3. ^ Abbott 1986, p. 127-128.
4. ^ Abbott 1986, p. 157.
5. ^ Role of the Scalawag in Alabama Reconstruction, 1965, Sarah Woolfolk
6. ^ Wiggins, The Scalawag in Alabama Politics, page 39 (1977)
7. ^ Bailey, Neither Carpetbaggers nor Scalawags (1991)
8. ^ a b Wiggins, The Scalawag in Alabama Politics 1977
9. ^ Webb and Armbrester, Alabama Governors, A Political History of the State 2001
10. ^ Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (1921)
11. ^ Wiggins, The Scalawag in Alabama Politics, (1977)
12. ^ a b Webb, Two-Party Politics in the One-Party South (1997)
13. ^ a b Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
14. ^ Lanham, M.D., Biographical Directory of the Federal Judiciary (1789–2000)
15. ^ Alabama Legislature website, Roster of the Alabama House of Representatives (1922-present)
16. ^ Hevesi, Dennis, The New York Times, Nov. 10, 2007
17. ^ a b Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
18. ^ Office of the Alabama Secretary of State
19. ^ Alabama Association of County Commissions
20. ^ a b Alabama Secretary of State website
21. ^ Mackenzie Weinger, Politico, 8/11/2011, Gallup Survey.
22. ^ a b c Alabama Department of Archives and History

## Works cited

[edit]

* Abbott, Richard (1986). The Republican Party and the South, 1855-1877: The First Southern Strategy. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807816809.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Alabama Federation of Republican Women
* Young Republican Federation of Alabama
* Alabama Minority GOP

* v
* t
* e

Republican Party

* History
* National Union Party
* Third Party System
* Fourth Party System
* Fifth Party System
* Sixth Party System

Presidential
tickets,
national
conventions,
and
presidential
primaries|

* 1856 (Philadelphia): Frémont/Dayton
* 1860 (Chicago): Lincoln/Hamlin
* 1864 (Baltimore): Lincoln/Johnson
* 1868 (Chicago): Grant/Colfax
* 1872 (Philadelphia): Grant/Wilson
* 1876 (Cincinnati): Hayes/Wheeler
* 1880 (Chicago): Garfield/Arthur
* 1884 (Chicago): Blaine/Logan
* 1888 (Chicago): Harrison/Morton
* 1892 (Minneapolis): Harrison/Reid
* 1896 (Saint Louis): McKinley/Hobart
* 1900 (Philadelphia): McKinley/Roosevelt
* 1904 (Chicago): Roosevelt/Fairbanks
* 1908 (Chicago): Taft/Sherman
* 1912 (Chicago): Taft/Sherman/Butler
* primaries
* 1916 (Chicago): Hughes/Fairbanks
* primaries
* 1920 (Chicago): Harding/Coolidge
* primaries
* 1924 (Cleveland): Coolidge/Dawes
* primaries
* 1928 (Kansas City): Hoover/Curtis
* primaries
* 1932 (Chicago): Hoover/Curtis
* primaries
* 1936 (Cleveland): Landon/Knox
* primaries
* 1940 (Philadelphia): Willkie/McNary
* primaries
* 1944 (Chicago): Dewey/Bricker
* primaries
* 1948 (Philadelphia): Dewey/Warren
* primaries
* 1952 (Chicago): Eisenhower/Nixon
* primaries
* 1956 (San Francisco): Eisenhower/Nixon
* primaries
* 1960 (Chicago): Nixon/Lodge
* primaries
* 1964 (San Francisco): Goldwater/Miller
* primaries
* 1968 (Miami Beach): Nixon/Agnew
* primaries
* 1972 (Miami Beach): Nixon/Agnew
* primaries
* 1976 (Kansas City): Ford/Dole
* primaries
* 1980 (Detroit): Reagan/G. H. W. Bush
* primaries
* 1984 (Dallas): Reagan/G. H. W. Bush
* primaries
* 1988 (New Orleans): G. H. W. Bush/Quayle
* primaries
* 1992 (Houston): G. H. W. Bush/Quayle
* primaries
* 1996 (San Diego): Dole/Kemp
* primaries
* 2000 (Philadelphia): G. W. Bush/Cheney
* primaries
* 2004 (New York): G. W. Bush/Cheney
* primaries
* 2008 (St. Paul): McCain/Palin
* primaries
* 2012 (Tampa): Romney/Ryan
* primaries
* 2016 (Cleveland): Trump/Pence
* primaries
* 2020 (Charlotte/other locations): Trump/Pence
* primaries
* 2024 (Milwaukee): Trump/Vance
* primaries
* 2028 (Houston)

Presidential
administrations|

* Lincoln (1861–1865)
* Johnson (1865–1868)
* Grant (1869–1877)
* Hayes (1877–1881)
* Garfield (1881)
* Arthur (1881–1885)
* Harrison (1889–1893)
* McKinley (1897–1901)
* Roosevelt (1901–1909)
* Taft (1909–1913)
* Harding (1921–1923)
* Coolidge (1923–1929)
* Hoover (1929–1933)
* Eisenhower (1953–1961)
* Nixon (1969–1974)
* Ford (1974–1977)
* Reagan (1981–1989)
* G. H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
* G. W. Bush (2001–2009)
* Trump (2017–2021; 2025–present)

U.S. Senate
leaders
and
Conference
chairs|

* J. P. Hale (1859–1862)
* Anthony (1862–1884)
* Sherman (1884–1885)
* Edmunds (1885–1891)
* Sherman (1891–1897)
* Allison (1897–1908)
* E. Hale (1908–1911)
* Cullom (1911–1913)
* Gallinger (1913–1918)
* Lodge (1918–1924)
* Curtis (1924–1929)
* Watson (1929–1933)
* McNary (1933–1940)
* Austin (1940–1941)
* McNary (1941–1944)
* White (1944–1949)
* Wherry (1949–1952)
* Bridges (1952–1953)
* Taft (1953)
* Knowland (1953–1959)
* Dirksen (1959–1969)
* Scott (1969–1977)
* Baker (1977–1979)
* Stevens (1979–1980)
* Baker (1980–1985)
* Dole (1985–1996)
* Lott (1996–2003)
* Frist (2003–2007)
* McConnell (2007–2025)
* Thune (2025–present)

U.S. House
leaders,
Speakers,
and
Conference
chairs|

* Pennington (1860–1861)
* Grow (1861–1863)
* Colfax (1863–1869)
* Pomeroy (1869)
* Blaine (1869–1875)
* McCrary (1875–1877)
* Hale (1877–1879)
* Frye (1879–1881)
* Keifer (1881–1883)
* Cannon (1883–1889)
* Reed (1889–1891)
* T. J. Henderson (1891–1895)
* Reed (1895–1899)
* D. B. Henderson (1899–1903)
* Cannon (1903–1911)
* Mann (1911–1919)
* Gillett (1919–1925)
* Longworth (1925–1931)
* Snell (1931–1939)
* Martin (1939–1959)
* Halleck (1959–1965)
* Ford (1965–1973)
* Rhodes (1973–1981)
* Michel (1981–1995)
* Gingrich (1995–1999)
* Hastert (1999–2007)
* Boehner (2007–2015)
* Ryan (2015–2019)
* McCarthy (2019–2023)
* Johnson (2023–present)

RNC|

| Chairs|

* Morgan
* Raymond
* Ward
* Claflin
* Morgan
* Chandler
* Cameron
* Jewell
* Sabin
* Jones
* Quay
* Clarkson
* Campbell
* Carter
* Hanna
* Payne
* Cortelyou
* New
* Hitchcock
* Hill
* Rosewater
* Hilles
* Wilcox
* Hays
* Adams
* Butler
* Work
* Huston
* Fess
* Sanders
* Fletcher
* Hamilton
* Martin
* Walsh
* Spangler
* Brownell
* Reece
* Scott
* Gabrielson
* Summerfield
* Roberts
* Hall
* Alcorn
* T. Morton
* Miller
* Burch
* Bliss
* R. Morton
* Dole
* Bush
* Smith
* Brock
* Richards
* Laxalt/Fahrenkopf
* Fahrenkopf
* Atwater
* Yeutter
* Bond
* Barbour
* Nicholson
* Gilmore
* Racicot
* Gillespie
* Mehlman
* Martínez/Duncan
* Duncan
* Steele
* Priebus
* McDaniel
* Whatley

|

Chair elections|

* 2009
* 2011
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021
* 2023
* 2024

Parties by
state and
territory|

| State|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

|

Territory|

* American Samoa
* District of Columbia
* Guam
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Puerto Rico
* Virgin Islands

Affiliated
organizations|

| Congress|

* House Conference
* Legislative Digest
* Steering and Policy Committees
* Senate Conference
* Policy Committee
* Factions
* Freedom Caucus
* Problem Solvers Caucus
* Republican Governance Group
* Republican Study Committee

|

Campaign
committees|

* National Republican Congressional Committee
* National Republican Redistricting Trust
* National Republican Senatorial Committee
* Republican Attorneys General Association
* Republican Governors Association

Constituency
groups|

* College Republicans
* Chairmen
* Congressional Hispanic Conference
* Log Cabin Republicans
* National Black Republican Association
* Republican Hindu Coalition
* Republican Jewish Coalition
* Republican Muslim Coalition
* Republican National Hispanic Assembly
* Republicans Abroad
* Teen Age Republicans
* Young Republicans
* Republicans Overseas

Factional
groups|

* Republican Main Street Partnership
* Republican Majority for Choice
* Republican Liberty Caucus
* Republican National Coalition for Life
* ConservAmerica
* Liberty Caucus
* Ripon Society
* The Wish List

Related|

* Primaries
* Debates
* Bibliography
* International Democracy Union
* Three Legged Stool
* Timeline of modern American conservatism
* Trumpism

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template