The Alabama House Republican Caucus on Wednesday elected State Rep. Paul Lee (R-Dothan) as the new House Majority Leader, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of State Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle).
Lee, a four-term lawmaker first elected in 2010, represents District 86 in the Wiregrass region. He currently chairs the House Health Committee and serves on the Ways and Means General Fund Committee and the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Finances and Budget.
“Our House Republican Caucus must keep its focus on the important issues and initiatives being discussed during the 2026 regular session and finish the job that each of us were sent to Montgomery to complete,” Lee said in a statement after his election by the caucus’s 76 members.
“At the same time, we must continue representing the conservative beliefs, traditional values, and bedrock Republican principles that our Caucus members embrace and share with our constituents back home.”
The majority leader position became vacant after Stadthagen formally resigned to pursue the chairmanship of the Alabama Republican Party. Stadthagen had taken a leave of absence from the role earlier this month after a closed-door caucus meeting where members debated whether he could serve simultaneously as majority leader and ALGOP chairman.
Before joining the Legislature, Lee served as a Dothan City Commissioner from 2005 to 2010. He worked for roughly three decades in Sony’s Magnetic Tape Division and currently serves as executive director of Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center, a regional rehab and employment-support nonprofit in Dothan.
State Rep. Chip Brown (R-Hollinger’s Island) served as interim majority leader during the transition.
The ALGOP chairmanship will be decided at the party’s State Executive Committee meeting on March 7.
The seat was left vacant after former chairman John Wahl stepped down to run for lieutenant governor.
Tuesday was day 13 of the 2026 legislative session. 17 days remain.
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
