ALGOP Chairman John Wahl calls on changes to primary system after ‘crossover voting’ issues
“Crossover voting” has become a hot topic of conversation among Republican leaders. Since 2010, crossover voting has not been allowed in primary runoff elections in Alabama. However, voters in Alabama are not required to register with a party prior to voting, so there is no mechanism to prevent crossover voting from happening in Republican primary elections because Alabama has open primaries. After Mo Brooks accused Senate opponent Katie Britt of soliciting Democrat votes in last month’s primary, Jennifer Montrose, president of the West Alabama Republican Assembly, issued a resolution requesting the Republican Party Steering Committee conduct “a fully public hearing or meeting with notice to the public to consider the facts and potential sanctions against candidate Katie Britt.” Now Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl is also calling for changes in the way Alabama Republican primaries are handled. Yellowhammer News reported that Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl said the comments that Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry made were “concerning”. Perry commented on Twitter about how “helpful” Republican Senate candidate Katie Britt was in electing Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate in 2017. Wahl said it was a wake-up call for the Republicans on how Democrats were trying to influence the Republican primary process. Wahl argued on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program” that it was time for a closed primary system in Alabama. “I’ll tell you one thing — next legislative cycle, I’m going to encourage closing the primary,” he commented, “and having a registered party system where we know only registered Republicans will be voting in the Republican primary.” Wahl continued, “[W]e are seeing in Alabama a push from the Democrats to try and insert themselves into our primary and have influence in picking out nominees,” he said, “and I think it’s very inappropriate.” Wahl said changing the primary process would be a major focus for him next session. “I’d like to think that even in politics good common sense reasoning and a good argument, when you can explain it, can carry the day. For me this is one of my number one targets for the next legislative cycle,” he concluded.
Pressure grows for ALGOP response to Katie Britt’s alleged Democratic Party support
In a state like Alabama, the Republican Party rules supreme. Winning a primary is tantamount to winning an election because Republicans hold a supermajority in the state. “Crossover voting” during primaries allows Democratic voters to have a say in who will be the winner, given that the general election is often nothing more than a formality. Since 2010, crossover voting has not been allowed in primary runoff elections in Alabama. However, voters in Alabama are not required to register with a party prior to voting, so there is no mechanism to prevent crossover voting from happening in Republican primary elections because Alabama has open primaries. 1819 News reported that Mo Brooks has accused opponent Katie Britt of soliciting Democrat votes in last month’s primary. During a radio interview on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” Brooks stated, “No question. Katie Britt had an activist effort, kind of behind the scenes, to encourage Democrats to crossover and to pollute our Republican primary.” Brooks also argued that she would do the same in the June 21 runoff. “It will probably happen to some degree on June 21 when we have to runoff. That’s not right,” Brooks continued. “The Democrats should never be participating in Republican primaries and vice-versa. But we’ll see how Republicans across the state react to Katie Britt’s outreach program that is coming to greater and greater light. By outreach program, I’m talking about getting Democrats to tamper in our elections.” Brooks’s accusations seem valid to some Republican leaders after Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry posted on Twitter, describing Britt as “pretty awesome” and “super helpful” during the Doug Jones 2017 win over Roy Moore. Additionally, Democrat U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith stated he supported Britt. “She’s running a great campaign,” Griffith commented last year on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show.” “She’s got a lot of assets. I’ve got a Katie Britt sign in my front yard … because the Democrats cannot win in Alabama. We need good government. We’re going to have to vote for good people and start being Americans instead of Republican or Democrat, particularly in Alabama.” Michael Hoyt, the chairman of the Republican Party in Baldwin County, has called for closed primaries. During an interview on FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Hoyt stated, “Principally, I would be in favor of having a closed primary. I think the party and members of the party should choose who their nominees are. And that shouldn’t be people for Democrats, for Libertarians, or whatever coming over.” Hoyt also said he expected the ALGOP to look into the issue in the near future. “[I] support having a closed primary system, and I suspect that that’s something that will be addressed by the state party, perhaps even at the summer meeting this year, and certainly be taken up by the legislature,” Hoyt commented. “When you’re in an essentially one-party state, and they know the election is determined by the primary, you have to be careful of who is even running in those races, and we certainly don’t want Democrats coming in and voting in them. So, I agree with [that] 100%.” Jennifer Montrose, president of the West Alabama Republican Assembly, issued a resolution requesting the Republican Party Steering Committee conduct “a fully public hearing or meeting with notice to the public to consider the facts and potential sanctions against candidate Katie Britt.” Essentially, the resolution accuses Britt of supporting “a nominee of another political party,” an infraction that can “deny ballot access to a candidate for public office.” In February, the Alabama Republican Party’s candidate committee voted to remove three candidates from its primary ballot in state legislative races because of alleged affiliations with other parties. “[W]e take it extremely serious that we keep the Republican primary ballots pure,” ALGOP chair John Wahl stated. “And what I mean by that is we’re not going to let a Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton come in and run on the Republican ticket. It’s not going to happen. Sometimes it gets hard. It’s very hard to know who is a Republican and who is not a Republican. The candidate committee makes those decisions, and I chair that committee. I choose not to take a vote because I feel like it is important for the chairman dispense all the information to provide the body information they need to make the best decision.” During the Republican primaries, Britt led opponent Brooks by a 45%-to-29% margin in votes.
Alabama Republican Assembly releases primary endorsements
The Alabama Republican Assembly has released its candidate endorsements for the upcoming May 24 primary. The Republican Assembly meets every two years to listen to candidates, questions candidates in private settings, and then issues endorsements in races where any candidate garners at least a two-thirds vote of delegates. The 2022 Endorsement Conference was held last Saturday at Hotel Capstone in Tuscaloosa. Local President Jennifer Montrose said she was “excited about the passion and energy in support of conservative candidates and constitutional values.” U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks was endorsed for U.S. Senator, receiving 96% of the vote. ALRA President Don Wallace stated, “Mo Brooks made a clear and convincing case for being the only consistent conservative in the race, based on a track record of experience and an un-matched voting record on issues like illegal immigration, pro-life values, support for our military and sound economic policies. The near unanimity of his support, when other races were not so clear cut, is an indication that the Brooks campaign has a new focus, new energy, and rising hopes to reclaim leadership in the Senate race.” In the matchup in the Governor’s race, businessman Tim James led the field, followed by Pastor Dean Odle. However, no candidate received enough votes to be endorsed in that race. Former BAM Executive Lew Burdette was placed fourth. Lindy Blanchard was fourth. There were also not enough votes for endorsement for the races for Attorney General, State Auditor, or the Secretary of State race where current State Auditor Jim Zeigler was just shy of the number of votes needed from the 55 delegates. Calhoun County Circuit Judge Debra Jones received the necessary votes for endorsement at Supreme Court Justice, Place 5. Robin Litaker and Brent Woodall also garnered an over 67% vote for their respective PSC campaigns. Other major endorsements included Paul Sanford and Michael Joiner for Congress, as well as Alex Balkum, Marie Manning, and Wayne Reynolds for State Board of Education. The group also is in the process of making endorsements in a slate of legislative races in the Republican primary to be released soon on social media and other outlets.
