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89-437: 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

178-565: 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 . 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

267-589: 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

356-451: A federal grand jury had issued a subpoena in a criminal investigation into Manchester's nomination, apparently focused on the RNC, McDaniel and RNC co-chair Tommy Hicks , "and possibly members of Congress". The Union-Tribune reported the investigation began in 2020. William Hugh Smith William Hugh Smith (April 26, 1826 – January 1, 1899) was an American planter and politician,

445-648: A lot more chaos . . . .And the party structure clearly has a diminished role because they don’t have the resources they used to have.” Since March 8, 2024, the Republican National Committee has been co-chaired by Lara Trump and Michael Whatley . The previous chair of the Republican National Committee was Ronna McDaniel , serving from 2017 to 2024. McDaniel was chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017. In January 2019, Thomas O. Hicks Jr.

534-636: 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. After Republicans spent

623-505: 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

712-429: 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. His GOP lieutenant governor was Alexander McKinstry . 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

801-846: A speech. The first Republican Senators from Alabama were Willard Warner (1868–1871) and George E. Spencer (1868–1879) who were both elected by the legislature before adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 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

890-423: 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

979-447: 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

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1068-616: 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. Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee ( RNC ) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States . Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It

1157-654: Is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform , as well as assisting in fundraising and election strategy. It does not have direct authority over elected officials. It is also responsible for organizing and running the Republican National Convention . When a Republican is president, the White House controls the committee. According to Boris Heersink, "political scientists have traditionally described

1246-418: The 21st Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama . He was the first Republican elected as governor in the state, serving from 1868 to 1870 during the period of Reconstruction . A former enslaver, he had opposed secession from the United States on the grounds it would imperil slavery. He appeared driven by practical consideration rather than principled opposition to slavery. From 1855 to 1859, Smith served in

1335-587: The GOP National Convention . 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. The party's entire state and congressional slate in the 1868 election was white. 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

1424-520: The Ku Klux Klan , arguing that local law enforcement could effectively handle the situation. He promoted economic and railroad development, for the South was behind in investing in infrastructure. Its planter elite had reserved their money for private projects. He was defeated for re-election by Robert Lindsay by fewer than 1500 votes: Lindsay had 77,721 to Smith's 76,292. Smith remained active in

1513-843: The National Press Club . The election for Chairman took place January 14 at the RNC's winter meeting with Reince Priebus winning on the seventh ballot after Steele and Wagner withdrew. Priebus won re-election with near unanimity in the party's 2013 meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina . He was re-elected to a third term in 2015, setting him up to become the longest serving head of the party ever. After winning in November 2016, President-elect Donald Trump designated Priebus as his White House Chief of Staff , to begin upon his taking office in January 2017; David Bossie of Maryland

1602-502: The "party brand" or image. It is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than public policy . It helps coordinate fundraising and election strategy, as well as organizing and running the Republican National Convention . According to Jim Nicholson, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee: “The party can’t coordinate with these Super PACs and neither can the campaigns so there’s

1691-780: 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

1780-435: 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. 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

1869-469: 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. After William Aldrich left Congress in 1901, no Republican would be elected again until 1964. Following

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1958-541: 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. Once every four years the committee selects the GOP slate for U.S. presidential electors and chooses alternate delegates to

2047-567: 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

2136-623: The Alabama House of Representatives as a " states' rights " Democrat, but he evolved into a strong Unionist. In 1862, he escaped to the Northern United States and spent the rest of the war recruiting soldiers for the 1st Alabama Union Cavalry Regiment . He went with this regiment on General William Tecumseh Sherman 's famous " March to the Sea ." After the war, Smith chaired the first statewide Republican convention in 1867. He

2225-681: The Black Republican Activists, GOP Hispanics, RNC Women (not to be confused with National Federation of Republican Women ), GOP Faith, Asian Pacific Americans, Young Leaders, and Veterans & Military Families. On November 24, 2008, Steele launched his campaign for the RNC chairmanship with the launching of his website. On January 30, 2009, Steele won the chairmanship of the RNC in the sixth round, with 91 votes to Dawson's 77. Source: CQPolitics , and Poll Pundit. On announcing his candidacy to succeed RNC Chairman Duncan, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele described

2314-583: 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

2403-809: The Democrats also have a majority on 33 with one remaining board being evenly split in Pike County. 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

2492-454: 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

2581-416: 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. 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

2670-466: 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

2759-628: 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,

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2848-410: 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 . In fact, Walker County had a strong Republican Party for much of the remainder of the 19th century. Republican representation in

2937-540: 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

3026-436: 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

3115-475: The RNC and later become U.S. president is George H. W. Bush . During Bush's time as RNC chair, Spiro Agnew was being investigated for corruption, which would later lead to Agnew's resignation as vice president. Bush assisted, at the request of Nixon and Agnew, in getting John Glenn Beall Jr. , the U.S. Senator from Maryland , to pressure his brother, George Beall the U.S. Attorney in Maryland, to shut down

3204-793: The RNC during three disappointing election years. McDaniel was re-elected in to a fourth term in January 2023, easily defeating Lindell and California RNC committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon .   Candidate won majority of votes in the round On February 6, 2024, The New York Times reported that McDaniel intended to resign after the South Carolina Republican presidential primary held on February 24, 2024, following dissatisfaction from former president Donald Trump , who publicly supported North Carolina Republican Party chair Michael Whatley . McDaniel confirmed these reports when, on February 26, 2024, she and Drew McKissick announced their resignations as chair and co-chair of

3293-583: The RNC effective on March 8, 2024. Later that same day, Michael Whatley, chair of the North Carolina Republican Party , announced that he would seek the position of RNC chair. Lara Trump , daughter-in-law of former president Donald Trump , also announced on February 28 that she would seek to succeed McKissick as co-chair of the RNC. Both Whatley and Trump gained the endorsement of former President Trump. Whatley and Trump were both elected via acclamation as chair and vice-chair of

3382-598: The RNC is the Democratic National Committee . The 1856 Republican National Convention appointed the first RNC. It consisted of one member from each state and territory to serve for four years. Each national committee since then has followed the precedent of equal representation for each state or territory, regardless of population. From 1924 to 1952, there was a national committeeman and national committeewoman from each state and U.S. possession, and from Washington, D.C. In 1952, committee membership

3471-571: The RNC ran ads for Trump's 2020 campaign as early as 2018, put numerous Trump campaign workers and affiliates on the RNC payroll, spent considerable funds at Trump-owned properties, covered his legal fees in the Russian interference investigation, hosted Trump's Fake News Awards , and criticized Trump critics within the Republican Party. Two days after the January 6th riot at the Capitol following

3560-556: The RNC was first headed by Azarias Reda, an engineer with a PhD in computer science from the University of Michigan . The effort is designed to help the party and its candidates bridge the technology gap. Para Bellum , translated from Latin, means "prepare for war." In September 2019, McDaniel emailed Doug Manchester , whose nomination to become Ambassador to the Bahamas was stalled in the Senate, asking for $ 500,000 in donations to

3649-459: The Republican National Committee on March 8, 2024. A collapsible list of the voting members of the Republican National Committee follows, as of March 2024 . The state chair, national committeeman and national committeewoman each receive one vote at RNC meetings and vote for RNC Chairmanship. In February 2014, during the chairmanship of Reince Priebus , the RNC launched an in-house technology incubator called Para Bellum Labs. This new unit of

Alabama Republican Party - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-571: The Republican Party. In 1873, Governor David P. Lewis appointed him as a Circuit Judge. He was the 6th Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party , serving in the post from 1875 to 1878. He was a Federal District Attorney under President James A. Garfield . He died in Birmingham at the age of 72, where he was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery . Smith's son, John A. W. Smith , unsuccessfully ran for governor of Alabama in 1902 as

3827-573: The Republican Party. Manchester responded, noting that his wife had given $ 100,000 and that his family would "respond" once he was confirmed by the Republican-led Senate to the ambassadorship. Manchester copied the email to aides of two U.S. senators whose support he needed to win confirmation. CBS News described McDaniel's action as a "possible pay-for-play scheme" for the ambassadorship. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in May 2021 that

3916-543: 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. 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

4005-761: The ball. What we ought to worry about is rebuilding our party over the next year and particularly in 2010," Barbour said at the November 2008 Republican Governors conference. Michael Steele ran for re-election at the 2011 RNC winter meeting. Other candidates were Reince Priebus , Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman, Ann Wagner , former Ambassador to Luxembourg, Saul Anuzis , former Republican Party Chairman of Michigan, and Maria Cino , former acting Secretary of Transportation under George W. Bush . Steele's critics increasingly called on him to step down as RNC Chair when his term ended in 2011. A debate for Chairman hosted by Americans for Tax Reform took place on January 3 at

4094-405: The candidates and Steele had been accused of not being "sufficiently conservative." Steele picked up Blackwell's votes. After the fifth round, Steele held a ten-vote lead over Katon Dawson, with 79 votes, and Saul Anuzis dropped out. After the sixth vote, he won the chairmanship of the RNC over Dawson by a vote of 91 to 77. Mississippi Governor and former RNC chair Haley Barbour has suggested

4183-480: The committee as a "Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse." The censure of sitting congressmembers, and particularly the description of the January 6 events as "legitimate political discourse", received bipartisan criticism from politicians and media. In May 2024, The Associated Press reported that under Lara Trump , the RNC had "sought alliances with election deniers, conspiracy theorists and alt-right advocates

4272-618: The controversial 2020 presidential election results, the RNC held an event where members expressed loyalty to the President. In February 2022, the RNC censured two Republican representatives, Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, for their participation in the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol ; the censure statement described

4361-518: 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,

4450-577: 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

4539-400: 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

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4628-520: 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

4717-420: 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. The move to GOP hegemony in

4806-512: The investigation into Agnew. Attorney Beall ignored the pressure. In 2013, the RNC began an outreach campaign towards the American youth and minority voters, after studies showed these groups generally perceived that the Republican Party did not care about their concerns. During the presidency of Donald Trump, the RNC showed staunch loyalty to President Trump, even at times when prominent Republicans did not. Under Ronna McDaniel 's leadership,

4895-411: 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

4984-483: 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

5073-511: 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. 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

5162-476: 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

5251-661: 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

5340-410: The parties' national committees as inconsequential but impartial service providers." Similar committees exist in every U.S. state and most U.S. counties , although in some states party organization is structured by congressional district , allied campaign organizations being governed by a national committee. Michael Whatley is the current committee chairman. The Democratic Party's counterpart to

5429-431: 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 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

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5518-473: 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 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

5607-418: The party as being at a crossroads and not knowing what to do. "I think I may have some keys to open the door, some juice to turn on the lights," he said. Six people ran for the 2009 RNC Chairmanship: Steele, Ken Blackwell , Mike Duncan , Saul Anuzis , Katon Dawson and Chip Saltsman . After Saltsman's withdrawal, there were only five candidates during the hotly contested balloting January 30, 2009. After

5696-400: The party had previously kept at arm's length." It also noted the prevalence of election deniers had increased among top Republican officeholders and RNC officials as part of a larger election denial movement in the United States . The Republican National Committee's main function is to assist the Republican Party of the United States. It helps to promote the Republican political platform and

5785-421: 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. In 1972, the state party made a historic change from a state convention nominating system for all candidates to having

5874-485: The party will focus its efforts on congressional and gubernatorial elections in the coming years rather than the next presidential election. "When I was chairman of the Republican National Committee the last time we lost the White House in 1992 we focused exclusively on 1993 and 1994. And at the end of that time, we had both houses of Congress with Republican majorities, and we'd gone from 17 Republican governors to 31. So anyone talking about 2012 today doesn't have their eye on

5963-442: 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. 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

6052-513: The state legislature as a Republican from 1942 to 1944. The modern Republican Party in Alabama traces its roots back to the election of John Grenier as State Party Chairman in 1962. 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

6141-429: 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

6230-685: 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

6319-401: 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. In

6408-468: 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

6497-472: 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

6586-424: The third round of balloting that day, Steele held a small lead over incumbent Mike Duncan of Kentucky , with 51 votes to Duncan's 44. Shortly after the announcement of the standings, Duncan dropped out of contention without endorsing a candidate. Ken Blackwell, the only other African-American candidate, dropped out after the fourth ballot and endorsed Steele, though Blackwell had been the most socially conservative of

6675-537: 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. 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

6764-656: 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. In 1868, William Hugh Smith

6853-497: 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. In this time period, in

6942-520: Was elected co-chairman of the RNC. Hicks has a strong connection to former President Trump's campaigns and policy initiatives, having served as chairman of the America First Action PAC and America First Policies , and as national finance co-chairman for Donald J. Trump for President . Similar committees to the RNC exist in each U.S. state and most U.S. counties. The RNC also organizes volunteer groups for specific interests, such as

7031-464: 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

7120-533: 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)

7209-401: Was even more lopsided, with a single Democrat to its 32 Republicans. 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. That Republican-controlled legislature passed

7298-418: Was expanded to include the state party chairs of states that voted Republican in the preceding presidential election, have a Republican majority in their congressional delegation (U.S. representatives and senators), or have Republican governors. By 1968, membership reached 145. As of 2011, the RNC has 168 members. While a number of the chairs of the RNC have been state governors, the only person to have chaired

7387-481: 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

7476-476: Was installed as Governor of Alabama by the U.S. Congress in July 1868. Although he had been elected in February 1868, Smith would not voluntarily take office due to voters failing to ratify the 1868 constitution. A conservative once in office, he supported the restoration of voting rights for ex-confederate public officials and military officers, who had been temporarily disenfranchised. He took only light action against

7565-463: 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

7654-427: Was seen as a potential next RNC chairman. Trump then recommended Ronna Romney McDaniel as RNC Chairwoman and she was elected to that role by the RNC in January 2017. McDaniel was re-elected in 2019 and 2021. Mike Lindell announced that he would challenge McDaniel in 2023. Lindell accused McDaniel of not denying the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election forcefully enough, and criticized her for presiding over

7743-511: Was subsequently re-elected to a third term in 1998 : Out of the 7 seats Alabama is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives , 6 are held by Republicans: Republicans control all seven of the elected statewide offices: 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

7832-530: 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. 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

7921-420: 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

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