Last Tuesday was a rough day to be a Republican running for office.
We watched as Democrats flipped both the U.S. House and Senate in overwhelming fashion.
And while that was an outcome most everyone saw coming from a mile away, the fact that states like Texas, possibly Mississippi, and South Carolina contributed to those flips left a lot of people scratching their heads.
But the real surprises came in gubernatorial races in historically red states like Texas and Georgia, which both saw GOP candidates – one of whom was a three-term incumbent in Gov. Abbott – lose for the first time since 1995 and 2003, respectively.
Same story in Iowa and Ohio – two states President Trump carried by double digits just two years ago – elected Democratic governors. Nevada, which Trump also carried in 2024, followed suit.
It didn’t stop there, though. It made its way all the way down the ballot in many states.
Democrats in Georgia picked up a combined 14 seats in the state legislature, giving them control of both the House and the governor’s office for the first time in 24 years.
Texas lost a net 21 seats, resulting in Republicans losing control of the State House of Representatives and barely hanging onto the State Senate by just one single seat.
In total, 12 state legislature chambers flipped to Democrat control, and Democrats now hold more governorships than Republicans for the first time in 26+ years.
Amid all this chaos, Alabama weathered the storm better than almost any other GOP stronghold in the nation.
And to be clear, that’s not my opinion. That’s an easily verifiable fact.
As expected, we held on to every single statewide office, but the real challenge for Alabama Republicans came down the ballot, and in some cases, it was an ugly scene.
Take Madison County, for example, where, with the exception of two races, every single Republican candidate – from their sheriff to their judges to their state senators – lost.
The only candidates who won in that county were two of Alabama’s best in Representative James Lomax and Representative Rex Reynolds.
In many districts, it was an absolute dogfight, but when it was all said and done last Tuesday, the Alabama House GOP had won 20 of its 22 races.
That’s a 91%-win rate during what many are calling one of the worst midterm election cycles for Republicans in modern U.S. history.
We also retained all five seats previously held by outgoing Republican members, keeping our supermajority firmly intact at 74 members.
I won’t speak to why the national outcomes were what they were, but I will tell you exactly why we were successful in fending off the Blue Wave in our House races.
First, it starts with having quality candidates.
Our members know their districts better than anyone else. They understood that name recognition and party affiliation alone weren’t going to carry them across the finish line. They put in the work, knocked on doors, made phone calls, and earned the votes they needed.
Rep. Mike Shaw – who pulled off a come-from-behind victory after being down by 16 points in our polls just a month ago – is an excellent example of that.
The second piece is a unified message.
Our members ran on a record of results. We had cut $1.5 billion in taxes, paved the way for nation-leading improvements in public education, and invested in roads and bridges in communities across Alabama. Rather than getting caught up in national political noise, they kept their campaigns local and focused on the accomplishments that directly affect their constituents, and it worked.
The final piece of the puzzle was fundraising.
We outraised Democrats 10 to 1, giving our candidates the financial backing necessary to build top-notch campaign infrastructure far superior to that of their challengers.
We had new polls coming in weekly, closely monitored the numbers, and adjusted our strategy when necessary. We made sure our candidates had the resources, data, and support they needed to compete in every district and effectively communicate their message to voters.
At the end of the day, the Blue Wave was very real, but it wasn’t strong enough to make its way down to Alabama.
And the reason for that is national political trends are going to come and go, but our Republican members understand that elections are won one district, one conversation, and one vote at a time.
Last Tuesday, that approach made all the difference.
But what I want the people of Alabama to understand is that we hear you loud and clear.
We hear you on the rising cost of living and the need to make life more affordable for Alabama families.
We hear you on improving education and making sure our children have every opportunity to succeed.
And we hear you on making sure communities across our state have the resources they need to grow and thrive, whether that means infrastructure investments, access to health care, or good paying jobs.
The GOP supermajority is alive and well in the State Legislature, and we intend to wield it to deliver on the priorities you care about most.
Nathaniel Ledbetter serves as the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. He represents House District 24, covering DeKalb County.
