As we turn the last page of the 2014 calendar, I want to say THANK YOU! Thank you for doing your part in making 2014 the most historic Republican year ever in Alabama. United in purpose, equipped with great candidates who delivered a conservative message, the voters once again placed their confidence in the Republican Party and our candidates.

At ALGOP, we never took our sights off the 2014 New Year’s resolutions we stated in my final column of 2013. “The Alabama Republican Party is resolving to achieve Republican wins in all statewide constitutional offices, replace the remaining liberal Democrats in the state legislature, elect solid law enforcement candidates to local Sheriff races across the state and successfully implement a strong ballot security plan to protect the integrity of our election process.” I am beyond proud to report that we were able to stick to and accomplish each of our 2014 resolutions!

The Republican victories of 2014 will go down in history as one of the most pivotal elections at the state and national level in decades. It was exactly 50 years ago that I became involved in my first campaign. That was in 1964, and Alabamians went to the polls in large numbers to cast their vote for Sen. Barry Goldwater for President. That year, we also elected five Republican congressmen, which was the first time Alabama had sent a Republican to Congress in over a century.

>>>Fast forward to 2014. Republicans hold 6 of the 7 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and both U.S. Senate seats. In the state legislature, we now hold 26 of the 35 seats in the State Senate and 70 of the 105 seats in the State House. To top it off, Republicans hold every statewide office! Thanks to the many grassroots workers over the last 50 years who worked to make this day possible.

As we approach the New Year 2015, I’ll leave the ALGOP New Year’s resolutions to the new administration that will be elected in February. But, each of us must resolve to hold our elected officials accountable to be the conservative Republicans we elected them to be. Alabamians didn’t vote for more taxes and more gambling from the statehouse. And they didn’t vote for a new Congress to go along with Obama’s plan in Washington.

Our Republican-led Congress must get to work in January fighting against the liberal, anti-constitutional actions of Barack Obama. I am confident our representatives in Washington will not take our votes for granted. And I am confident our super majority in the legislature in Montgomery will hold the line on growing government, raising taxes and expanding gambling.

We often talk about the Republican majorities we have in Montgomery and Washington, but we can also be proud of the new Republican majorities we have in Court Houses in an ever-growing number of counties. Republicans now hold prominent elected positions in former Democrat controlled counties like Cherokee County, Clarke County, Colbert County, Crenshaw County, DeKalb County, Franklin County, Lauderdale County, and Wilcox County.

Now that we have broken the grip the Democrats have had at the local level, I am confident our great group of local candidates elected will make us proud. We now hold elected positions as Sheriff, Revenue Commissioner, Tax Collector, Tax Assessor, County Commissioner, Boards of Education and more in many counties. Their service over the next two years will prepare us to make even more gains in Court Houses in 2016.

I am proud to have served the Alabama Republican Party during this historic year. As my last full year as Chairman, 2014 was the culmination of everything I hoped to achieve with the Alabama Republican Party. While the next Chairman will have their own resolutions, I know the Party has the strong foundation to continue on the path towards financial stability, smaller government, better paying jobs and improved education.

My prayer for 2015 is that our elected Republicans, at every level, will provide strong conservative leadership to prepare the way for a great victory in 2016 at every level, including the White House. May God bless Alabama and the U.S.A.!

By Bill Armistead, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party