Alabama Republican Party
The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. 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.
Alabama Republican Party
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.
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.
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 Democrat 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]
