Legislature

State Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter to be next Alabama House speaker

The Rainsville native has served in the House since 2014 and as majority leader since 2017.

Published on November 10, 2022 at 1:26 pm CST

State Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter at a press conference with Gov. Kay Ivey and then-Health Commissioner Lynn Beshear in October 2020. Governor's Office/Hal Yeager

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State Representative Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, was elected Thursday by his Republican colleagues to be the next speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives.

Ledbetter, who has served as the Republican Party’s majority leader since 2017, was elected during a Republican caucus meeting in Montgomery. He will need to be approved by the full House, but since Republicans hold a supermajority, the vote is essentially ceremonial.

Ledbetter, the former mayor of Rainsville, takes over for outgoing Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, who retired following the 2022 Legislative Session. Ledbetter has served in the House since 2014 and is generally viewed as a reasonable, conscientious lawmaker who rarely subjects himself to the more heated and partisan debates.

Josh Moon

Josh Moon is an investigative reporter and featured columnist at the Alabama Political Reporter with years of political reporting experience in Alabama. You can email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.