MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Republican Party re-elected John Wahl as chairman for his third consecutive term at the party’s annual Winter Meeting earlier last week, and he said he hopes to prioritize elevating the state’s profile on the national stage.
“This is my home, I love it, and I have really enjoyed my time as chairman,” Wahl told Alabama Daily News recently after his re-election. “I want to see my home state succeed, I want to be an ambassador for them, and I want to make sure we continue our track record of raising Alabama’s profile.”
Wahl, who was first elected as the Alabama GOP chairman in 2021, spoke to the progress seen in Alabama over the past four years in terms of its national profile being raised, noting that three major presidential candidates had held major campaign events in the state within the past two years; Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. He also pointed to the state hosting its first-ever presidential debate in late 2023, an event Wahl was heavily involved in orchestrating.
“I think the sky is the limit for our state, and I look forward to being part of continuing to help it get the attention I think it deserves,” he said.
Beyond advancing Alabama’s national profile, Wahl also named two other priorities he planned on pursuing during his third term; winning more elections, and advancing “good policy.”
On winning more elections, Wahl spoke enthusiastically about the party’s gains with minority voters in the 2024 elections, and said he’d like the Alabama GOP to work to expand those gains.
“I think we have incredible opportunities to make inroads with minority communities, and continue the work that the party’s already started, branching out into areas of the state where we had never won before,” he said.
In the 2024 election, more than 50% of Hispanic voters in Alabama supported Trump, a significant increase when compared to past elections that saw Hispanic voters back the Republican ticket in rates of between 25% and 35%. The Alabama GOP also made gains with Black voters, who supported Trump at a rate of 18% in the 2024 election, an increase from the 14% seen in 2022, and 10% in 2020.
The gains with minority voters, Wahl argued, were indicative of the Alabama GOP’s messaging, which he said he hoped to expand upon in his third term.
“That tells me that our message is popular, and we can build bridges into minority areas around the state, and that is one of my passions and one of my biggest goals as state party chairman,” he said.
First and foremost, however, Wahl said his ultimate priority as chairman will remain as working to “defend the rights and freedoms of the people of this state,” and called his re-election “humbling.”
“You know the Republican Party is great not because of our name, but because of the values we represent, and I think we saw a shift on Nov. 5 when the American people recognized that it is a Republican party that helps America be greater and that help them have a better life,” he said.
“…I’m incredibly grateful to the members of the state party for giving me this opportunity, and in the end, I’m just a farm boy from north Alabama who grew up chasing butterflies.”