Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, standing on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 17, 2026, in Montgomery, Alabama. Stadthagen was elected Alabama Republican Party chair on Saturday. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
Rep. Scott Stadthagen of Hartselle won election as Alabama Republican Party chair Saturday, defeating former secretary of state John Merrill and acting chair Joan Reynolds.
A message seeking comment from Stadthagen was left Saturday afternoon.
The position became vacant after former Alabama Republican Party Chair John Wahl announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor following an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Stadthagen stepped down as majority leader last month to run for the position.
The committee is made up of 475 voting members from across the state.
Stadthagen was elected to the Alabama House in 2018. In 2022, he sponsored a bill that prevented students from using any bathroom other than the one of the gender assigned to them at birth. Stadthagen said the legislation, which critics said discriminated against transgender youth, was a public safety issue and cited a 2010 assault by a 16-year-old on a 14-year-old at a school in Huntsville. An attorney for the victim said the assault had nothing to do with transgender people and called any assertions it did “ludicrous.”
Party chairs can serve in the Legislature. Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, served as Alabama Republican Party chair from 2007 to 2011, while serving as Alabama House Minority Leader. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, served as chair of the Alabama Democratic Party from 2019 to 2022.
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Author: Anna Barrett