With its growth and influence at an all-time high, Alabama's Republican Party finds itself in uncharted waters.
26 of 35 Alabama Senate seats belong to the GOP, as do 72 of the state's 105 House seats. Republicans occupy every state elected position and the party continues to grow in rural Democratic hotbeds like Franklin County.
As the leader of the Alabama Republican Party's State Executive Committee completed his second and final two-year term last week, Bill Armistead would seem to be situated to parlay the party's success under his tenure into a return to politics, either through an appointment or another venture into elected office.
But the 70-year-old Armistead, who served without pay as the ALGOP's Executive Committee Chairman from 2011-2015, says his future won't include a political job. That doesn't mean that Armistead will ride off into the political sunset, though.
“Somewhere between the (November 2014) election and Thanksgiving, I gave some thought to retiring from this position because I feel my passion now is for the 2016 Presidential race and making sure we have a good president,” Armistead said. “I believe I could stay on another two years. I've been elected twice with over 60 percent of the vote, so I felt it was possible again, but I wanted to move on and follow my passion,” Armistead said.
Armistead, a Columbiana resident who represented Alabama's House District 14 from 1994-2002, served as ALGOP Vice-Chairman before taking over as Chairman in 2011.
Since that day, working with Republican leaders from across the state, Armistead designed a plan to increase Republican presence at Alabama's local levels of government. For years, counties like Franklin County saw what was essentially the general election held in the June Democratic Primary. Republican candidates were a mere afterthought at the local level. Armistead worked to successfully change that, particularly in northwest Alabama, where Franklin, Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Marion counties all have multiple Republican local officials now.
“The main thrust here at the party was to take our game to the county and local level. We were very interested in 2012 in making sure Barry Moore was elected as Probate Judge of Franklin County,” Armistead said. “He had been appointed by Gov. Riley but he needed to be elected. That was a target race for us.
“We provided funding and field support for him. Two more commissioners were elected on the Republican ticket in your county that year. And then in 2014, Franklin County elected a Republican revenue commissioner (Veronica Stancil) and that was another targeted race,” Armistead added.
With state-level success already in place, Armistead's plan for the Republican Party was to instill at the local level a solid framework all the way from county courthouses to the statehouse in Montgomery. And it worked.
From 2011-2015, the number of Republicans holding office at the local level in Alabama increased by more than 200. Additionally, the party has seen many local Democrats switch their allegiance mid-term and announce their new affiliations with the Republican Party.
In Franklin County, Revenue Commissioner Gene Ellison switched parties and declared he would run in 2014 as a Republican. Ellison decided last year not to seek reelection. Franklin County Board of Education member Terry Welborn announced he would seek reelection as a Republican as well.
“Part of building this entire team, beginning at the local level, is to have a solid base all the way to the legislative level. If we're winning probate judge, sheriff and school board races at the local level, that will do nothing but help other candidates at the house and state senate level,” Armistead said.
And nowhere was that more evident than in Alabama's Senate District Six, where Republican nominee Dr. Larry Stutts defeated 30-year incumbent Democrat Roger Bedford by 69 votes in November.
Bedford, perceived by many as the state's most powerful Democrat, was seen as 'untouchable' by many political experts. Armistead, an outspoken critic of Bedford who served with him in the Alabama Senate, said Stutts' victory was a benchmark in Alabama politics.
“This was about proving what people thought was not doable,” Armistead said. “And that was winning the toughest race in the state in the Alabama Legislature. With Dr. Stutts, I knew we had a winning candidate. I saw his passion and desire to serve.
“We came close in 2010, but with the district redrawn to include more Democrats, it was even a harder challenge this time. Roger was still very strong. We did seek out someone to run and I can't think of a better senator than Larry Stutts because he's so committed to doing the right thing,” Armistead said
Stutts, who met privately with Armistead and other Republican leaders several times before deciding to run for office, said he's grateful to Armistead for creating unity within the Republican Party at all levels in Alabama.
“In my opinion, Bill has done an outstanding job of pretty much pulling everyone in the same direction through some real principled leadership. That's how I describe him,” Stutts said. “He always kept his eye on the goal of moving the party forward, recruiting and supporting candidates for office and he put the party back on solid financial footing with sound financial management,” Stutts added.
Under Armistead's leadership the Alabama Republican Party purchased a new building in Hoover. This was the first permanent party headquarters after years of rental payments. Through Armistead's active donor campaign, the building is now owned by the ALGOP debt-free.
Never one to retreat from a challenge, Armistead actively sought minority Republican candidates, particularly in Alabama's Black Belt.
“Part of Bill's goal was to find qualified people to run for office even in areas where it looked like they might not be electable,” Stutts said. “He had success in finding qualified minority candidates to run. Most did not win, but he found some outstanding candidates in those districts and progress was made. He's dead set on broadening the base of the Republican Party throughout Alabama,” Stutts added.
Jerry Mays, former mayor of Phil Campbell who has served as Franklin County Republican Executive Committee Chairman, said Armistead was especially active in northwest Alabama.
“Bill Armistead is working actively to see growth of the party in the Franklin, Colbert and Lauderdale county local governments,” Mays said last year. “It's not just a matter of finding a candidate to fill a name on the ballot. He's working with officials in each county or district to find the right candidate for the job,” Mays said.
Republican politics are nothing new for Armistead. His political maiden voyage came when he formed the College Republican Club while a student at Samford University. After hearing Barry Goldwater speak, Armistead started working with Goldwater's Presidential campaign in 1964.
In 1988, he was named Chief Economic Advisor by Gov. Guy Hunt, a position he held through 1993, followed by his tenure in the Alabama Senate.
As Terry Lathan was sworn in as the new chairwoman of the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee last Saturday, the buzz at the party's annual executive committee meeting centered around an anonymous postcard sent to party members critical of Armistead.
Lathan said actions such as those rip apart party unity and create divisions damaging to its effectiveness.
Never one to remain shy with his opinion, Armistead also talked about the damaging effect of such selfish agendas.
“I pray that we elect unifiers and not dividers in this party,” Armistead said.
While focusing on next year's Presidential campaign, Armistead said he won't be looking to retire after next November.
“I have no immediate plans. If an opportunity comes along that is good for me and my family, I'll certainly look at it. I'm 70 years old and should probably think about retirement but God has blessed me with good health and I'm very energetic,” Armistead said. “I don't see myself sitting at home, so I'd like to find something and it would be nice to be paid, too,” he added.
