HOOVER — On Saturday morning, members of the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) executive committee elected State Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) as the new state party chairman following John Wahl’s recent resignation.
John Merrill, Joan Reynolds and Stadthagen faced off for the position. Stadthagen was announced as the victor of the election, but minutes later, it was announced there would be a runoff between Merrill and Stadthagen.
During the confusion, Stephanie Petelos Nabavian moved to display the previous election results. Riley McArdle seconded the motion.
John Wahl, the former chairman, stood during discussion in support.
“We are the party of transparency,” said Wahl, “We are the party of openness."
He went on to call for the results to be displayed publicly in the “unique situation.”
Joel Blankenship spoke next in agreement and before a formal vote was taken the results were shown.
The first results were: 45% Stadthagen, 29% Merrill and 25% Reynolds. Which resulted in a runoff election.
The runoff election resulted in Stadthagen securing the position, with 62% of the vote to Merrill’s 38%.
Stadhagen served in the State House starting in 2018 and became the House majority leader in 2023. Stadthagen is also one of the Top 50 under 50 legislators, as named by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
“Transparency is extremely important to me,” Stadthagen said during his speech. “I will never do anything moving forward without you guys knowing first."
Stadthagen also said that the State House body will have its “own package of bills” to present to the governor each year.
Stadthagen ended his speech calling out Democrats for “meddling in our elections.” The executive committee consists of 475 voting members who determine the chairman election. The vote is via a ProVote Secure, wireless electronic voting signal devices. These clickers ensure privacy, anonymity, and safe record-keeping.
RELATED: How the votes are tallied: ALGOP chairman's race explained
The candidate required 50% of the vote plus one to win the election. Without a majority, the vote is supposed to go to a runoff between the top two candidates.
An objection to electronic voting in favor of paper ballots was raised before the election, but did not receive enough votes.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the names of all of those involved in displaying the results of the race.
Trenton Buffenbarger is a senior at the University of Alabama and is the Chairman of the UA Young Americans for Freedom.
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