Photo Credit: https://wilkinsforal.com
The Alabama Republican Party candidates committee met on Sunday to hear challenges to candidates on the GOP ballot.
Sources say that there was a challenge brought against the candidacy of Gerrick Wilkins. Wilkins is running for Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District.
Wilkins has been charged with making a contribution to the Libertarian party.
A search of the Federal Elections Commission website revealed that Wilkins had donated $250 to the Libertarian National Committee on September 5, 2022.
Most of Wilkins’ contributions are to Republican candidates and causes.
Wilkins has made numerous political contributions over the years, including to the Alabama Republican Party, Donald Trump for President in 2024, Tim Scott for President, Ron DeSantis for President, John McCain for President in 2008, Fred Thompson for President, and the Republican Party of Florida.
The Alabama Republican Party State Executive Committee made a bylaws change in 2022 to forbid a person who donates to Democratic, independent, and third-party candidates from running as a Republican. Wilkins’s contribution to the Libertarian Party was after this prohibition was placed on supporting non-Republican campaigns. People who have donated to non-Republican campaigns and groups are barred from running for office as a Republican for five years.
Sources close to the ALGOP told Alabama Today that the candidate’s committee would meet in Birmingham on Sunday to hear the challenge against Wilkins. The committee reportedly voted 9 to 8 not to formally challenge Wilkins’ eligibility to run as a Republican.
Election challenges will be heard on December 10.
The Wilkins campaign dismissed the allegations, saying that he has far more donations to Republican candidates than he did to Libertarians.
A source close to ALGOP told Alabama Today that the bylaw prevents potential candidates from donating to non-Republican candidates. Wilkins did not do that. He actually donated to the Libertarian Party. That is not forbidden in the new bylaws change.
The ALGOP candidates committee is the 21-member Alabama Republican Party Steering Committee.
Wilkins’ victory in the closed-door GOP meeting in Hoover means he can remain on the ballot. Wilkins, a car dealer, will face incumbent Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) and independent insurance agent Ken McFeeters in the March 5 Republican Primary.
The eventual Republican nominee will face Democrat Elizabeth Anderson in the November 5 general election.
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