What began as a gathering of six people at a Huntsville restaurant has quickly grown into one of Alabama’s more visible Republican grassroots organizations.
The Huntsville chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, founded in 2024 by local president Andy Blalock, now reports more than 70 paying members and more than 500 people on its email list as the organization continues expanding its presence within local and state Republican politics.
Log Cabin Republicans is a national organization representing LGBTQ+ Republicans and their allies. Founded in 1977 during opposition to California’s Briggs Initiative, which sought to ban openly gay and lesbian teachers from public schools, the group has grown into a nationwide network with chapters across more than 45 states.
Blalock said he decided to launch a Huntsville chapter after attending a national Log Cabin Republicans event in Las Vegas and meeting national leaders, including former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and national president Charles Moran.
“Everything that they talked about I stood for,” Blalock said. “Huntsville is very purple. We need something like this. We need to give people an outlet and say, ‘Look, we’re common sense. If you’re even remotely conservative, come listen to what we have to say.’”
Blalock said the organization’s first social gathering drew just six attendees. Membership steadily increased in the months that followed, but he said one of the chapter’s biggest turning points came after participating in a local Pride event in Huntsville.
According to Blalock, the group’s participation generated criticism from some activists but also introduced the organization to new supporters.
“From there we just hit wildfire,” Blalock said.
Today, the group includes both LGBTQ+ members and straight allies, with Blalock estimating that roughly 65% of the membership consists of heterosexual conservatives.
“We don’t talk a lot about LGBT issues,” Blalock said. “We want to build conservative politics with conservative policy that’s limited government, low taxes, things like that, the things that every Republican truly wants.”
The chapter’s growth has also translated into organizational influence within Republican Party structures.
Blalock said members of the Huntsville Log Cabin Republicans successfully sought seats on local and state Republican executive committees during recent elections. The organization now has six members serving on the Alabama Republican Executive Committee and three members serving on the Madison County Republican Executive Committee.
“That is tremendous growth in that amount of time,” Blalock said during the interview.
The organization has also begun drawing interest from Republican candidates and elected officials, according to Blalock, who said several statewide candidates and local political figures have attended chapter events in recent months.
“We noticed in the last six months people wanted to come visit with us,” Blalock said. “That right there is letting me know that they see who we are, they see that we’re an action group.”
Looking ahead, Blalock said the chapter plans to continue growing its influence within Republican politics while expanding membership across North Alabama.
“We’re boots on the ground,” he said. “We want to continue to build.”
