Though it’s easy to forget from one four-year cycle to the next, one of the most significant roles in local politics belongs to members of the executive committees that guide their parties’ candidates and public messaging — especially during an election year.

With all but one local race currently crowded with Republican candidates ahead of the May 24 primary, that makes the executive committee of the Cullman County Republican Party an especially influential group these days.

In addition to selecting and vetting local Republican candidates, the committee — whose members aren’t paid — meets once each month to “determine and set local party policies, recruit new Republican candidates, plan events to raise funds for future campaigns, decide on party publicity programs, elect representatives to our state committee, and campaign for Republicans at every level during our general elections,” according to committee member and past chair Ken Brown.

“‘I think our nation is in turmoil, and I think change starts at home,” explained Alabama House Rep. Corey Harbison (R-Good Hope), one of more than a dozen people on the ballot to serve on the local GOP executive committee for the next four years.

“The only way to make a change is to get involved: learning who’s running for what, and who the candidates are, is a good step. The executive committee is important, because they control ballot access, and they can vet candidates and decline candidates. and we’ve got one of the biggest Republican voting blocs in Alabama — right here in Cullman.”

On Thursday, candidates hoping to earn or retain a seat on the 25-member body greeted voters at forum hosted by the local GOP. Cullman County Republican voters will have the final say in who will fill the committee’s 13 contested seats, which include four district-level spots representing geographic areas of the county, alongside 9 at-large positions voted on by everyone who will cast a local GOP primary ballot.

Current county GOP chair Kelly Duke — himself on the executive committee ballot this year — said the recent growth of political interest in joining with other local Republicans is a luxury the party shouldn’t take for granted. “I’m really excited to see this many people actually running,” he said during his turn at the mic at Thursday’s forum. “I can remember when we did ‘paper, rock, scissors’ at one time just make sure we’d have enough members.”

Harbison echoed Duke’s appreciation for the large local interest, while cautioning Republicans to prepare for the party’s future growth. “I’d like to see younger people get involved, and I think we need to reach out and get younger people involved,” he said. “We laugh about it now because we’re so strong right now — but it [waning interest in GOP politics] can happen.”

Even though all 25 executive committee seats come up for election all at once on the same four-year schedule that puts the Alabama governor’s seat up for grabs, twelve of the committee’s seats feature only a single candidate apiece — which means those races already have been decided. The other candidates will be vying on the May 24 local GOP primary ballot for one of the remaining seats. those candidates include:

7th School District (West Point) Seat

• Sam Roberts
• Wayne Willingham

East Cullman County

• Ken Brown
• Jeremy Cline
• Jamie Speakman
• Ryan Whisenhunt

At-Large

These seats feature candidates that can live anywhere in Cullman County, and will be voted on by all local GOP voters. There are 14 candidate contending for 9 at-large seats in the GOP primary election.

• Shirley Arnett
• Dr. Tom Barnes
• Jeff Clemons
• Steve Cummings
• Kelly Duke
• Roger Gentry
• Corey Harbison
• Nathan Haynes
• Greg Johnson
• Emily Johnston
• Peggy Montalbano
• Eric Parker
• Rex Sorrow
• Wayne Walker