At age 49, State Sen. Garlan Gudger, a second-term senator from Cullman, was officially elected as President Pro Tempore of the Alabama Senate in a unanimous vote of the full chamber on Tuesday.
When he stepped up to the mic to address colleagues for the first time as their leader, Gudger expressed tearful appreciation for a long list of Alabamians.
The reflection was appropriate, after Gudger experienced a close call with death last summer on Smith Lake, in what he described today as a “freak” accident that he has recovered from by the grace of God.
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“My body was broken, my spirit was strong, and it made me even stronger by the prayers of Alabamians, both known and unknown, who asked God’s healing hands to take control,” Gudger said.
“The first tentative steps the physical therapist made me take following that accident were painful and difficult, but each determined step, one after the other, eventually brought me to where I stand before all of you today. I’m a man who is grateful to have survived and healed, grateful for God’s mercy, grateful for my family, grateful for my colleagues gathered in This chamber, and today, I’m grateful for the faith, the trust, the responsibility that you have placed in me as your new president.”
“I will do all in my power to justify your faith and trust and make you proud of that decision,” he added.
Gudger’s nomination by members of the Alabama Senate Republican Caucus came in November after former Pro Tem Greg Reed stepped down from his seat to serve as the first Secretary of Workforce under Governor Ivey.
On Tuesday, Gudger was formally nominated by one-time rival for Pro Tem, Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro), seconded by Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro), and elected in a unanimous 33-0 vote of the full chamber.
As the 2025 legislative session gets underway and Governor Kay Ivey outlines her priorities tonight in annual State of the State address, Gudger detailed a few of his chamber’s top priorities as well.
“The Senate to-do list this session is long, and our time to accomplish it is short,” Gudger said.
“We must ensure that every child in every zip code in every income level has access to quality education that prepares them for a lifetime of good paying jobs. We must allow Alabamians to once again feel safe in their homes and in their communities, and our law enforcement officers who wear a badge. Must know that we all have their backs. We must turn back the flood of illegal immigration that erases our borders, strains our cities and drains our resources. And we must budget every taxpayer dollar around the committee room table as carefully as we budget our families dollars around our own kitchen table.”
“To sum it up, our job is to make an already great state even better for all who reside here. It’s a mission that each of us gathered in this chamber share.”
RELATED: Garlan and Heather Gudger answering a higher calling on mission trip to Uganda
Update 2:45 p.m. — Gudger shared many details about upcoming Senate action following his election as Pro Tem:
.@GarlanGudgerJr offered a ton of insight about what’s next for the Alabama Senate in his first visit with the press as pro tem 🚨🧵#alpolitics pic.twitter.com/iSiKdCcqeL
— Grayson Everett (@Grayson270) February 4, 2025
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
