Overview
- Willy Rice won the SBC presidency on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, receiving 5,217 votes on the first ballot to defeat Josh Powell, who received 3,821 votes.
- Delegates voted to suspend a standing rule so they can immediately consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar churches with women pastors from SBC cooperation.
- Rice has said abuse should be reported to police but has publicly questioned the scale of the SBC’s sexual-abuse crisis and criticized parts of the denomination’s response.
- Rice’s campaign drew visible backing from the Center for Baptist Leadership and executive director William Wolfe, whose support helped frame the victory as a win for conservative reformers.
- The election heightens uncertainty over previously promised abuse reforms that followed a 2021 Guidepost Solutions report documenting long‑running institutional failures, and any constitutional change would still need two-thirds approval in two consecutive annual votes to take effect.