J. Elbert Peters, a leader in state and north Alabama Republican politics for decades, died Thursday.
He was 90, his grandson David Wisdom said on social media.
Peters was chairman of the ALGOP in the 1990s and remained active years later in the state and Madison County Republican Party executive committees. He’d previously been the party’s Fifth Congressional District chairman.
Elected officials from across the state paid tribute to Peters Thursday.
“Elbert Peters was a pioneering giant of the Alabama Republican Party and a tremendous American whose legacy of service and statesmanship will live on for generations to come,” U.S. Sen. Katie Britt said on X. “His loved ones are in our prayers.”
Elbert Peters was a pioneering giant of the Alabama Republican Party and a tremendous American whose legacy of service and statesmanship will live on for generations to come. His loved ones are in our prayers. https://t.co/9YhM9lNiFM
— Katie Britt (@KatieBrittforAL) December 29, 2023
Several credited Peters with helping build the ALGOP into the state’s dominant political party.
“Elbert was a stalwart in the GOP for decades,” Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said. “And, he was a leader of the effort to replace the Democratic machine that controlled the Tennessee Valley region at all levels for over 100 years. His Madison County Republican Men’s Club is legendary. He will be greatly missed.”
It is with incredible sadness that we report former ALGOP Chairman and longtime member Elbert Peters passed away this afternoon at the age of 90. His contributions to our Party are immeasurable and he will be greatly missed. Please join us in lifting his loved ones up in prayer. pic.twitter.com/LC3kTio6nw
— ALGOP (@ALGOP) December 29, 2023
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, also talked about Peters’ local work for the party.
“When I first met Elbert Peters at a Monrovia Men’s Club Barbecue, he shared the idea of starting the Republican Men’s Club Breakfast— something that has now been successful for many years,” Strong said. “Elbert paved the way for the Alabama Republican Party to become what it is today.”