By Barbra Murray
Congressional Quarterly

Electoral votes: 9

Delegates: 44

Co-Chairmen: Sens. Richard C. Shelby and Jeff Sessions

Hotel: Crowne Plaza (215) 561-7500

1996 Election:
Dole – 50%
Clinton – 43%
Perot – 6%

The strongly rightward lean of the Alabama Republican Party has not changed an iota, say state GOP officials. "Alabama is a very conservative state and we're the conservative party, and I think we're going to be pretty homogeneous [on issues]," says state Republican Party Chairman Winton Blount III.

But the winds of party unity - and victory-minded pragmatism - have swept even into the state that calls itself "the Heart of Dixie."

It is no surprise that all 44 delegates - selected as the result of a primary on June 6, long after the nomination was settled - are committed to support the party's presidential standard-bearer, Texas Gov. George W. Bush. But party officials interviewed by Congressional Quarterly early this summer said that the conservative Alabamans would stick with Bush even if he were to choose Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge or another abortion rights supporter as his vice presidential candidate.

Blount said the party and the delegates "all believe that [opposition to abortion] shouldn't be the primary focus. Our focus is on winning, and if that's your important issue and only platform, you're not going to win." Real estate and insurance sales executive Pat Owens, an Alabama delegate, agreed with Blount, explaining, "There might be a few plank arguments, the right-to-life issue will be brought up, education is an issue. But I think we'll have a plank that everybody can live with."

Sounding a need for compromise from both sides, Owens added, "I don't think anything is written in stone when it comes to politics."

He also conjectured that the convention would provide good exposure for the party and attract new members. "The platform that we adopt at the convention will be a sellable platform to anybody with good sense," he said.

This is a far cry from the attitude struck by a number of Alabama delegates to the Republican National Convention just four years ago. In 1996, the abortion issue fractured delegation unity, as religious conservatives vowed to vote only for an ardent anti-abortion vice presidential candidate.

Many of Alabama's delegates are local and state elected officials, who had the advantage of name recognition when they ran for their slots on the primary ballot. Among those who can be found in Philadelphia are U.S. Sens. Richard C. Shelby and Jeff Sessions (the delegation co-chairmen) and Reps. Sonny Callahan, Terry Everett and Spencer Bachus.

Shelby and Callahan started their political careers as Democrats before switching to the GOP. But no name in the delegation is more symbolic of the shift of state conservatives toward the Republicans than that of state Public Service Commissioner George C. Wallace Jr., son of the state's longtime, right-wing Democratic governor, the late George C. Wallace.

The delegation is not completely comprised of veteran politicians, though. Owens is well positioned to observe the changes in state GOP politics, having attended the 1976 and 1980 Republican national conventions as an Alabama delegate.

He noticed an increased competition for delegate spots this year - reflective, perhaps, of Republican growth in a state that historically was a Southern Democratic stronghold - and an uptick in the number of women active in the party.

"There are a lot more younger people who are very interested in Alabama's future," said Owens, a party activist since the 1960s. "You'll find that the delegation will have a completely different look."

An increase in women and younger members is not the only demographic change Alabama has witnessed in its delegations over the years. The party has increased its efforts to include African-Americans in its contingent.

Ed Martin, the Republicans' long-shot challenger to Democratic Rep. Earl F. Hilliard in the black-majority 7th Congressional District, is an alternate delegate. Martin said he is hopeful that, in addition to attracting new members, the convention will present political opportunities for GOP campaigners who could use a bit more attention from the national party.

"Guys like me who are untraditional - black candidates who are running against incumbents - I think the party will take time out to recognize our work at the convention," he said.

According to Martin, "The Republican Party has to stop taking the traditional approach to gathering others. They've got to be more out-of-box and more creative. They've got to advertise, and the best way to do that is show national unified support of untraditional candidates."

ALABAMA NOTABLES: U.S. Sens. Richard C. Shelby and Jeff Sessions, delegation co-chairmen; Reps. Sonny Callahan, Terry Everett and Spencer Bachus; Lt. Gov. Steve Windom; Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett; state Public Service Commissioner George C. Wallace Jr.