MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Rep. James Lomax of Huntsville is in as House Majority Whip, newly elected House Majority Leader Paul Lee, R-Dothan, announced Tuesday morning.
The appointment is one of Lee’s first big moves in the role. The House Republican Caucus elected Lee last week to replace Rep. Scott Stadthagen after Stadthagen’s decision to run for chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.
“Rep. Lomax has quickly established himself as one of the most effective members of the Alabama House of Representatives and has built a reputation as someone you can count on to get the job done,” Lee said in a press release. “I have a tremendous amount of faith in his abilities and will lean on him heavily as we work to support our Republican members in passing key conservative legislation and dominating up and down the ballot.
As whip, Lomax will serve as a liaison between leadership and caucus members and will work to get the caucus’ primary legislation passed.
“I am honored by the trust Majority Leader Lee and members of the Republican Caucus have placed in me to serve as Majority Whip,” Lomax said in the release.
Lomax listed cutting taxes, supporting law enforcement, investing in education and building up the state’s economy as priorities going forward.
“The role of Majority Whip is about service: listening to our members, delivering results for our constituents, and delivering strong conservative wins for Alabama. Alabamians expect results, not noise,” he added.
Lomax previously served on the caucus’ platform committee. He was elected to the House District 20 seat in 2022 after beating out three Republican opponents in the primary. District 20 is made up of the southwest Huntsville area in Madison County.
The move into leadership comes after former U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks qualified at the last minute to challenge Lomax for the seat in the Republican primary, garnering criticism from Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, and Lomax.
“You’ve got somebody like a James Lomax that is an outstanding young man, who is super, super smart and is a future leader of this state, without question… Then you got somebody like Mo Brooks running against him who has failed in every office he’s been in,” Ledbetter said at a weekly morning briefing hosted by the Business Council of Alabama in January.
Brooks spent about a decade in the Alabama House starting in the early 80s.
He has raised about $205,000 since entering the race, according to his latest available campaign finance reports. Lomax had about $121,000 on hand at the end of January.
The primary is May 19.
James Linderholm is a Democrat seeking the seat.