Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, speaks on his bill criminalizing certain forms of absentee ballot assistance in the Alabama Senate on March 19, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Gudger, a two-term senator, is expected to become Senate President Pro Tem, the leader of the chamber. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
The incoming leader of the Alabama Senate said he wants to improve communication among his colleagues.
“I do think that there’ll be a little bit more communication as we move forward into legislative session,” said Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, during a phone interview late last month. “There might be a few more caucus meetings on both sides of the aisle, so that we have more information of how to handle each week than just having one at the beginning of the week.”.
Gudger, who has served in the Senate since 2018, won the Republican caucus’ nomination for Senate President Pro Tem in December after Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, announced that he would leave the Senate to take a job advising Gov. Kay Ivey on workforce development. He still needs to be voted on by the whole Senate officially, but Republicans hold 27 of the chamber’s 35 seats.