The executive committee of the Alabama Democratic Party today reelected Nancy Worley as chairwoman despite blunt criticism by the party's only statewide officeholder.

Worley kept the leadership position by a vote of 101-89 over challenger Peck Fox, a Montgomery attorney and lobbyist. Worley has held the position since 2013. She said she was grateful for the support today.

"I felt like I had made some progress in moving the party forward," Worley said. "We paid off about the half the indebtedness or at least half the indebtedness. I felt like we had a structure in order to get more staff in place and to get many of our county organizations reorganized. And I felt like we had the potential to move on that next level. So I felt like to change horses in midstream would not be productive."

Sen. Doug Jones nominated Fox for the position. Jones, who gave the Democrats a badly needed signature win with his victory over Roy Moore last year, said the party lacks a support structure for candidates.

"This party needs to build," Jones said before the committee's vote. "We need change. And the only way to get change is to have change. I think it's time to move on. There's a lot of energy we've got to capture. And I think Peck is the best person to do that."

After today's vote by the committee, Jones said he was disappointed. He said a key reason he wanted new leadership was that his Senate campaign got no significant help from the state party last year.

"Our candidates are going to have to go it alone, just like I did," Jones said. "We need to have a party. We don't have a party. There is no social media. There's no outreach. There's no get out the vote effort. There's no organization. There's no field. And the vote today was simply to keep that."

Peck Fox talks to reporters after he came up short in his bid for chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party today.

Fox said the fact that he was unable to unseat Worley despite the support of Jones shows that the majority of the committee favors the status quo, which he said defies logic.

"The definition of insanity is that if you keep doing the same things and expect different results," Fox said. "Well, our results hadn't been good, and we're keeping doing the same thing. I'm going to continue to be a Democrat. I'm going to continue to campaign for candidates. I'm going to continue to support the party when I can. I'm disappointed today but I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. I'm very pleased and proud of the people who supported me and stood up."

Except for Jones' seat in the Senate, Republicans hold every statewide office in Alabama, as well as about 70 percent of the seats in the state Legislature.

Joe Reed, the party's vice chairman for minority affairs, said today's competition for leadership positions was healthy for the party. He also said it was up to the committee, not Jones, to pick the chairman. Reed said he supported Worley because he said she has worked tirelessly for Democrats.

"The lady works for that night and day, all the time," Reed said. "She spends hours after hours working. And when she took over the party, the party was in deep, deep financial straits.

"She doesn't get one dime for this. All of this is voluntary work. She does it. She's the first to see the sunrise, the last to see the moon. She does it well and she deserves our support and our confidence."

As the meeting got underway, party treasurer Ed Gentle told committee members that finances have improved under Worley's leadership. Gentle said the party has sharply reduced its debt, has low overhead and has $800,000 in the bank. He noted that Worley is unpaid as chairman and the party does not have a paid executive director.

Worley said she has essentially served two roles without compensation.

"I'm an old school teacher and we pinch pennies and we know how to stretch that dollar as far as it will go," Worley said. "That's one of the ways I've saved money for the party is that I didn't take a salary as chair nor did I take a salary as executive director."

Fox said the party suffers by not having a paid executive director and more of a work force.

"The Republican Party has a full-time professional staff in Alabama," Fox said. "We don't. And that's not a level playing field.

"Nancy has gotten the party back on better footing financially. But she's done that by not spending. And you can't invest in the future without spending. She's strangling growth. She's strangling development. She's strangling support for county committees and candidates by not investing in the future."

Worley said she plans to hire a communications director, as well as a field director to work with counties.

Worley and Fox were the only two nominees for the chairmanship. Committee members voted by standing. A request for a roll call vote after the initial count was rejected.

This story was updated at 12:56 p.m. to say that Nancy Worley was reelected as chairwoman. Updated again at 4:12 p.m. with additional information and quotes.

