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What began as a promising, issues-focused Republican primary in House District 11 has unraveled into something far less dignified. Instead of a contest between two respected conservatives, the race has veered into baseless conspiracies, personal attacks and a strategy built more on suspicion than substance.
Former Cullman County Board of Education member Heath Allbright and retired Army Colonel Don Fallin should be offering voters a thoughtful debate about policy, priorities and representation. This race should have been a credit to the Republican Party — one that honored the values of service, community and conservative problem-solving.
Instead, we’re witnessing the kind of political behavior that drives people away from public life: shadowy mailers, whispered accusations and outlandish claims of “Montgomery insiders” pulling the strings.
Much of this noise is coming from Fallin’s campaign and the PAC supporting him — 1776 PAC. They’ve accused Allbright of being a “plant,” a puppet of political elites in Montgomery. Their entire case? That Allbright has long-standing working relationships with Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger and outgoing HD11 Rep. Randall Shedd.
But that narrative collapsed under its own weight when Fallin himself backtracked in a statement to 1819 News.
“I also would like to clarify that I was given wrong information, and it has come to my attention that Senator Garlan Gudger and Representative Randall Shedd have remained neutral throughout the election process,” Fallin said.
So why are these claims still circulating? Why are supporters still clinging to a fiction even the candidate no longer stands behind?
The truth is that branding someone a “Montgomery insider” is a tired political tactic — meant to stir up resentment and suspicion rather than offer substance. It reduces relationships and experience to liabilities and hopes fear will do the rest. But in this case, the narrative simply doesn’t hold up.
Heath Allbright isn’t some out-of-town political operator. He’s Cullman through and through. He was born and raised there. Educated there. Runs a business there. Worships there. Raises his family there. He was elected — twice — by the people of Cullman County to serve on the school board. If that’s a “plant,” then the roots run deep.
There’s also nothing sinister about working relationships in the legislature. In fact, a representative who has earned the respect of leadership is better positioned to bring real results home. That’s not corruption — it’s how governance works. It’s how roads get paved, schools get funded and real progress gets made.
What we’re seeing from the Fallin campaign is not leadership and it’s not courage. It’s the politics of distraction, driven by a lack of vision and a fear of losing on merit.
Ronald Reagan famously urged Republicans to follow the Eleventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” He understood that eating your own for short-term gain comes at the long-term cost of trust, unity and governing capacity.
That wisdom has been discarded here. One candidate has remained focused on the issues, declined to attack his opponent and chosen the high road. The other has taken a different path — one littered with rumor, resentment and recklessness.
The voters of House District 11 deserve better. This race is not just about who fills a seat in Montgomery. It’s a referendum on the kind of leadership Alabama needs — steady, thoughtful and grounded in service, not spectacle.
Leadership isn’t loud. It doesn’t hide behind attack ads or whisper campaigns. It stands firm, speaks plainly and earns trust the way Allbright has: one quiet act of service at a time.
The people of this district are decent, discerning and grounded in common sense — they deserve a representative who reflects their values, not one who panders to their fears.
