Members of the Republican caucus will nominate Rep. Mac McCutcheon, a Republican from Madison, Alabama, to be speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
McCutcheon is the sitting House Rules Committee chairman.
McCutcheon must still be elected by the entire House when the body convenes later this month, but the Republican nomination all but assures McCutcheon will be the next speaker as the caucus has a super-majority in the House.
The speaker's seat was vacated in June when Auburn Republican and former House Speaker Mike Hubbard was convicted of 12 separate public corruption charges by a jury in Lee County.
Hubbard was first elected in 1998 and took the position of speaker in the House after he led a historic Republican takeover of the Alabama Legislature in 2010.
McCutcheon has served in the Alabama House for nearly ten years. Before serving in the House, he was a police officer in Huntsville, Alabama.
Four other Republicans sought the position, including Acting Speaker Victor Gaston, R-Mobile; Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville; Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden; and Rep. Phil Williams, R-Huntsville.
One Democrat, Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, is currently pursuing the position and will face off against McCutcheon when the House votes on their next speaker.
The House will reconvene Aug. 15 for a special session called by Gov. Robert Bentley. The Legislature will discuss the possibility of a state-run lottery.
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