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In recent days, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has engaged in a public dispute with his predecessor, John Merrill, possibly setting the stage for next year’s lieutenant governor race. Allen announced his bid for lieutenant governor earlier this year, while Merrill has hinted at possibly joining the race as a return to public office.
Allen and Merrill’s current feud began when Merrill penned an op-ed published by APR, accusing Allen of mischaracterizing his predecessor’s tenure as secretary of state.
“Until now, I have refrained from commenting or opening the door to counter-criticisms in response to the derogatory comments made about me and my administration by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen,” Merrill wrote. “Since taking office in 2023, Secretary Allen has repeatedly mischaracterized both my tenure and the work of the professionals in the Secretary of State’s Office. He has overstated his efforts in ‘clearing up’ the voter rolls, inflating numbers, and presenting a misleading picture of the state’s voter rolls. I’ve stayed silent, not because I lacked a response, but because I believe facts speak louder than rhetoric.”
Merrill wrote that he was motivated to speak out after hearing Allen’s recent comments before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Elections. During that testimony, Allen stated that Alabama’s voter file was “a bloated mess” when he took office — a notion Merrill ostensibly viewed as a personal slight.
In response to Merrill’s op-ed, Allen levied attacks targeting Merrill’s personal history, highlighting an extramarital affair that ruined Merrill’s 2022 U.S. Senate ambitions.
“While I, along with most Alabamians, were spending time with our families and fellow church members on Easter Sunday, John Merrill was busy sending out an unsolicited email littered with lies and attacks on my office and my character,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, it is not surprising that a man whose time in office was marked by obscene sodomy scandals and repeated lies to the people that he was elected to serve, would not hesitate to press send on a false statement.”
Merrill responded to Allen’s comments in a lengthy press release on Tuesday.
“In my communication, there was no name-calling and no personal derogatory comments about Wes Allen. Instead, I acknowledged his role as Secretary of State, addressed his statements about the voter rolls, and highlighted the misrepresentations surrounding these issues,” Merrill wrote. “Interestingly, Secretary Allen’s response to the media did not address those points; he resorted to name-calling, innuendo, and personal attacks.”
“I am not surprised that Secretary Allen chose to bring up the embarrassing revelation of my infidelity from over five years ago in his calculated personal attack,” Merrill added later in his statement. “It might seem interesting or even strange that I feel thankful and comfortable with him mentioning this, but it gives me the opportunity to remind all readers of these articles that I, like many of you, serve a risen Savior who is not only forgiving but also accepting of those of us who have fallen short of living the lives we’re called to lead.”
Merrill recently indicated that he is considering returning to the public sector after leaving politics in 2023. Lieutenant governor is among the offices Merrill is said to be considering running for, but he has yet to make any official announcements.
“We’ve not made any decision about seeking any office in 2026,” Merrill told APR on Tuesday.
In addition to potential tension related to the lieutenant governor race, AL.com reported that Allen and Merrill’s feud also stems from a 2002 Alabama House race in which Merrill challenged — and ultimately lost to — Allen’s father, state Sen. Gerald Allen.
In 2022, Allen ran to succeed Merrill as Alabama’s secretary of state and campaigned on a promise to change how Alabama maintained its voter rolls under Merrill. After assuming office, Allen withdrew Alabama from the Election Registration Information Center, ERIC, a multi-state organization focused on helping states maintain accurate voter rolls, which Merrill had supported.
“It is unfortunate that during my eight years of service, Secretary Allen missed many of the key steps we took to improve our office and the work we accomplished. We successfully broke every record in the state for voter participation and voter registration, records that still stand today,” Merrill said in his Tuesday statement.
Allen did not respond to APR’s request for further comment.
