State Rep. Sorrell elected to chair Alabama delegation at the RNC; Says Gov. Ivey cited ‘potential’ special session as reason for not running

Last weekend at a meeting of those set to serve in the Alabama delegation for the Republican National Convention later this summer in Charlotte, N.C. and Jacksonville, Fla., State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) won an election over Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker to serve as the delegation chairman.

Although Sorrell’s selection to serve as chairman was a surprise to some, it has solidified his position as one of the Alabama Republican Party’s rising stars.

During an interview with Huntsville radio’s WVNN, Sorrell reacted to the honor, adding it did help that one of the other delegates was also his wife, Hannah Sorrell.

“I am absolutely thrilled and honored to have received the vote from the other 49 Trump delegates,” he said. “Of course, it always helps when you and your wife are two of the delegates. So you know you got two votes going in. It was a real exciting opportunity because Kay Ivey announced three weeks ago she was not going to run for delegation chairman. And typically, your delegation chairman is going to be a U.S. Senator or a governor or, at the very least, a congressman. So really, this was a unique opportunity for a little more of a normal guy like myself to be able to step up and run for this position. And I can begin to tell you how thrilled I am to have the opportunity to serve the other Trump delegates.”

Sorrell said he did not know the exact vote totals that led to his election as delegation chairman. However, he said some of the delegates recognized his conservative voting record as a state legislator.

The Colbert County Republican lawmaker said if Ivey were able to attend, he would instead introduce Ivey and may let her present the delegates. Otherwise, convention viewers will hear Sorrell as the voice of the Alabama delegation at the convention.

“In the absence of the governor showing, I’ll be the one who gets to announce — hopefully on national television, that Alabama is casting its 50 delegates for Donald J. Trump,” he said.

Later, Sorrell discussed the possibility of a special session of the legislature later this year. Sorrell revealed one of the reasons cited by Ivey for not seeking the position was because of the possibility of a special session.

“One of the reasons Ivey announced she was not going to seek the position of delegation chairman was because of a ‘potential upcoming legislative special session,'” he said. “I do think that she is leaning that way. I don’t have any kind of inside information on when or how long it will be or what the topics will be. I would be surprised if we don’t see at least one, if not two special sessions called before the year is out. The only caveat to that being — if coronavirus cases continue to escalate, I think that could force her to just put it off.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.