Republicans select Garlan Gudger to lead Alabama Senate

Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, appears set to become the next leader of the Alabama Senate after a meeting of the chamber’s Republican caucus. 

Gudger, first elected to the Senate in 2018, was nominated by the GOP senators for Senate President Pro Tempore, according to Harrison Adams, spokesperson for outgoing Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, R-Jasper. A vote total was not immediately available on Tuesday afternoon. 

“I appreciate the trust and confidence my fellow Republican senators have offered and will ensure that everyone has a voice in how the Senate operates,” Gudger said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “If we bring everyone together, put teamwork first, and unite behind the conservative beliefs, traditional values, and bedrock morals that each of us share, we can make an already great state even greater.”

The other known candidate was Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro. Messages seeking comment were left with Gudger and Livington Tuesday afternoon.

A vote total was not immediately available. Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, said Tuesday the vote was conducted by secret ballot, with “a group of senators selected randomly that did the counting.”

The position still needs to be confirmed by the whole body, but Republicans hold 27 of the 35 seats in the upper chamber.

Gudger chairs the Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development committee. Last spring, he sponsored SB 1, which criminalizes some forms of absentee ballot assistance and is currently partially preliminarily enjoined. 

Livingston, who has served as Senate Majority Leader since 2023, handled the Senate side of redistricting. 

There were few ideological differences between the candidates, both of whom come from solidly Republican districts. Senators said in the lead-up to the contest that the election would come down to the styles of the candidates. 

Reed said last month that he would leave the Senate at the end of the year to take a job advising Gov. Kay Ivey on workforce development.  

Gudger in July was involved in a jet ski accident which led to multiple injuries and required hospitalization.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. with information from Albritton. This story was updated at 3:52 with information on Gudger’s jet ski accident.