Republican primary vote under review | | #elections | #alabama


Limestone and Lauderdale Counties are 10 days away from the runoff for Alabama House of Representatives District 2 race. The results of the Republican primary have been contested. This will not be the first time that Limestone County has seen this, multiple Republican races have been contested or challenged in the last five years.

Former Limestone County District 4 Commissioner Ben Harrison and current Limestone County District 3 Commissioner Jason Black will face each other in the runoff. The Alabama Republican Candidate Committee is not scheduled to hear the contest until after the June 21 runoff.

Harrison said in a statement regarding the contest, “I have never had one of my elections contested before, so this is new territory for me. I am hopeful that there were no serious issues with the May 24th primary and that we can move forward.”

While Harrison himself has not been contested before, some of his opponents in other elections in Limestone have been challenged by the Republican party. He did not respond to questions about those races.

He said, “I am trying to not let this slow me down as I continue to campaign and talk to voters across district 2. I do support every investigation into election security where there are unanswered questions. I stand behind my record of demanding secure and honest elections for all voters. I am also committed to running a clean race focusing on my conservative record and platform.”

In a letter from Jason Black dated June 6, 2022, he said, “I wholeheartedly believe elections should be fair and impartial. I believe that Alabama as a whole and our Secretary of State’s Office is the best or near the best in the United States when handling elections.”

Black said, “I also remember others being removed from the Republican ballot in recent years. I know there were reasons for this removal presented, but I still cannot help but feel exposed that the committee will base decisions on emotional actions.”

The election

Harrison was the primary winner with Black coming in second. One-hundred seventy five votes separated the two.

After the primary votes were all counted, Harrison received 3,290 votes (32.81 percent). Black amassed 3,115 (31.06 percent) with Kimberly Butler trailing by just fourteen votes at 3,101 (30.92 percent). Fourth place candidate Terrance Irelan received 517 votes (5.21 percent).

Harrison did not receive the most votes in Lauderdale or Limestone County, but respectable second place showings in both counties elevated him into first overall. In Limestone County, Black received 1,971 votes (46.50 percent). Harrison earned 1,435 (33.85 percent) and Butler 748 (17.65 percent).

The contest

After election officials reviewed provisional ballots, the official results saw Black’s total lead over Butler increase to fourteen votes. After a long week of waiting, the runoff between Harrison and Black was set. Less than 24 hours later, the candidates learned the race was one of five being contested by Ralph D. Long and Walter L. Patterson Jr. on grounds of “malconduct, fraud, and/or corruption.”

The contest submission explains violations of campaign laws and voting procedure. It cites specific examples for the other contested races, but not District 2.

On June 6, the Alabama Republican Party announced their Candidate Committee would hear four contests on June 25 — four days after the runoff. Only the District 2 race was selected from the five submitted by Long and Patterson. The other three that will be reviewed were contests submitted from other districts.

Ralph D. Long is a resident of Lauderdale County and the chairman of the Alabama Freedom Political Action Committee. The Alabama Freedom PAC has donated a total of $29,000 to Ben Harrison’s campaign with Long personally donating an additional $5,000, according to donations reported by Harrison’s campaign to the State of Alabama. The News Courier reached out to the Alabama Freedom PAC for a comment from Long.

“I originally got involved in the election contests because I was concerned about several of the Lauderdale County elections (including those of the Alabama and Lauderdale Republican Executive Committees) that may have been affected by misconduct and/or negligent issuance of ballots by the polling officials at several polling locations. I took part in a joint contest with Mr. Patterson because he was concerned about the same issues in the House District 2 race. When I learned that Alabama Republican Party was dismissing all but one of our contests because of legal filing requirements, I agreed out of respect for my friend, Mr. Patterson, that I would join with him in the 2nd House District contest,” Long said.

“When it comes to election integrity, many in our country are concerned about the accuracy of vote totals. And while I understand that filing requirements have a purpose, I am very disappointed that all my original contests will not be heard. I believe each questionable race should be looked into,” he said.

Alabama GOP Chair John Wahl spoke to The News Courier to clarify the process of contesting an election and why only one of the five contested by Long and Patterson are being heard by the Alabama Republican Party Candidate Committee. “Only one election contest can be contested per letter submitted,” he said. “Those who contested the race chose District 2.”

Walter L. Patterson Jr., is the father of Kimberly Butler; he made no financial contributions to her campaign, based on records from the State of Alabama. Kimberly Butler told The News Courier that although she would love to speak, she was unsure if she should speak on an open case. The News Courier did not have direct contact for Patterson Jr. but asked Butler to reach to him. As of publication The News Courier has not heard back from him.

When asked about possible outcomes from the Candidate Committee’s decision expected on June 25, John Wahl said “We are in uncharted territory. The priority is that the voters’ will is done.”

Black said “my biggest concerns are long shots, but honestly capable of happening. The first is throwing out a runoff result that will happen on June 21st. … Another option would be to disqualify the May 24th election and require a new primary election.”

A pattern

This is not the first time Limestone County has seen ballot and campaign controversies over the past decade.

In 2019, then Republican candidate for Limestone County District 4 Commissioner LaDon Townsend was removed from the GOP ballot prior to the March 2020 primary election, as previously reported by The News Courier.

In a letter from 2018 Republican candidate for sheriff, Eric Redd, to then Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman, Terry Lathan, Redd challenged Townsend’s candidacy due to a show of support for then Democrat Sheriff Mike Blakely and former District 4 Commissioner Bill Daws. The News Courier has reported on Blakely’s own controversy since the elections.

“As the 2018 Republican nominee for Limestone County sheriff, I find this support inappropriate for a Republican candidate. Though LaDon Townsend has a right to support anyone he chooses, he does not have the right to use the Republican Party ticket to do so,” Redd wrote in the letter.

The challenge was successful, leaving then Limestone County District 4 Commissioner Ben Harrison unopposed in the Republican primary.

Harrison said at the time, “I’ve always stayed focused on my own campaign and the issues facing Limestone County. I don’t get involved in other people’s campaigns, and I have not even seen the information from the state party.”

Current Alabama GOP Chairman and Limestone resident John Wahl was serving as the senior vice-chair of ALGOP at the time of the challenge, meaning he was a part of the Steering Committee that ruled against Townsend. As chairman, he is still a part of the committee that will determine the outcome of a contested election.

John Wahl’s brother, Noah Wahl, who is chairman of the Limestone County Republican Executive Committee defended the manner in which the challenge was handled.

“I know the Republican Party feels a great duty to the voters to make sure Republican candidates represent the values of the party. The process can be painful, and I truly feel for all persons involved,” Noah Wahl said in 2019. “Ballot challenges happen every election cycle and at every level all across the state. ALGOP has guidelines to handle ballot challenges, and I have been assured that Townsend’s challenge was handled no different from the others they handled.”

The News Courier reached out to Noah Wahl for this story and had not heard back by publication.

Townsend collected enough signatures to qualify as an Independent and faced Harrison in the general election. “I want to support everybody in District 4, and Blakely and Daws live in District 4,” Townsend said to The News Courier for this story.

Townsend defeated Harrison and currently serves as District 4’s commissioner.

In 2018, Jason White was barred from running as a Republican in the Limestone County’s sheriff’s race and did not gain enough signatures by the deadline to qualify as an Independent candidate for the general election. Other candidates were Democrat incumbent Mike Blakely and Republican candidate Eric Redd.

White had run as a Republican candidate for sheriff in 2002. White, a former Athens police officer, had said he believed he was barred from running on the GOP ticket in 2018 due to his sexual orientation.

Noah Wahl denied that White’s sexual orientation was the reason for barring him from the GOP ticket. “The challenge to Mr. White’s candidacy as a Republican was simple, was he a Republican? After careful deliberation the committee could not answer that question with a yes,” he said in January of 2018. Wahl also cited that White did not vote for Donald Trump for President.

In 2016, Limestone County Republican Executive Committee member Nelson “Bruce” Reynolds filed ethics complaints against Independent candidate for District 4 Commissioner Bill Daws. Reynolds, a supporter of then District 4 commissioner Ben Harrison, filed complaints that Daws failed to list the required information on all of his campaign materials.

Daws, a former Democrat who served as District 4 Commissioner, had been unseated by Harrison in 2012. Daws addressed the complaint filed by Reynolds. “It’s an example of dirty politics. I am sticking to the issues. I don’t want to get into negative campaigning. There is too much work to be done; too many roads to fix. There are too many other issues we need to be discussing and solving,” he said.

The News Courier reached out to Daws for this story and had not heard by the time of publication.

Reynolds pushed back on Daws’ take on the complaint at the time. “I am a Republican, and I am reporting this complaint,” he said. “This is about honesty, integrity, and doing the right thing.”

In 2015, former Limestone County District Attorney Kristi Valls was barred from running as a Republican in the 2016 Limestone County District Attorney race. Valls was a former Democrat who joined the Republican Party in November of 2014. Valls was defeated by Republican Brian Jones in 2010 and hoped to challenge him in the 2016 Republican primary.

The News Courier reached out to Valls and had not heard a response by publication.

Noah Wahl and Wayne Reynolds, both of Limestone County and members of the Republican State Committee at the time, wrote letters arguing against Valls’ placement as a Republican in the District Attorney race.

A resolution signed by Noah Wahl included these reasons to deny Valls’ placement. “There is now serious concern that Kristi Valls may have deceived the LCREC in other areas regarding her conservative credentials and Republican allegiance,” he said. “It is distasteful and in the vein of a sore loser for Kristi Valls to run as a Republican against the very same Republican candidate who beat her as a Democrat.”

Valls ran as an Independent as a result of being barred from the Republican ticket and narrowly lost against current District Attorney Jones.

Noah Wahl wrote in a letter to the editor published in The News Courier January 4, 2020.

“We expect our party leadership and our political candidates to be loyal to the Republican Party. We are concerned if any candidate’s loyalty is called into question. If there are enough issues, that candidate may be denied ballot access. This decision is not made lightly and the state party works hard to make sure every candidate is treated fairly and equally.”




Click Here For This Articles Original Source.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *