Alabama Republican gubernatorial hopeful Ken McFeeters was sent to the emergency room, according to his campaign, after falling off a dirt bike on Sunday.
A Monday press release from McFeeters’ office entitled “First Casualty of the 2026 Gubernatorial Race: Ken McFeeters vs. Physics (Physics Wins)” claimed the candidate suffered injuries that resulted in a visit to UAB-St. Vincent’s St. Clair County Hospital, following a campaign marketing ploy where he attempted to perform a wheelie on a dirt bike.
“Unfortunately, on the third attempt — just after whispering to himself, ‘How hard can this be?’ — McFeeters met gravity. The dirt bike shot forward. Ken did not,” the press release read.
McFeeters’ campaign said the stunt left the candidate “knocked, shocked, bruised, and contused.”
“The 2026 race for Alabama governor has claimed its first political — and orthopedic — casualty,” McFeeters’ office wrote, saying the candidate “‘whiskey throttled’ a dirt bike straight into the annals of campaign folklore and directly into the ER.”
McFeeters’ campaign clarified the term “whiskey throttled,” which they say McFeeters learned from an ER technician during his hospital visit, refers to, “the moment when your wrist forgets who’s in charge, your throttle sticks wide open, and you achieve flight without a license.”
“Lacking the backing of Washington lobbyists, coastal elites, and cable news panels, McFeeters turned to the next best thing: a dirt bike stunt. Why speak softly and carry a big stick when you can scream down a gravel driveway doing a wheelie?” the press release continued.
McFeeters’ office took aim at gubernatorial frontrunner, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, in its explanation of the candidate’s stunt and resulting injury, pointing to concerns regarding Tuberville’s residency in the state.
They said McFeeters purchased a Kawasaki 110RL last Friday for the botched stunt where he attempted to “pull a 100-yard wheelie to win the hearts of the off-roading electorate and embarrass Tuberville in the process.”
McFeeters’ campaign says the stunt was meant to challenge his gubernatorial opponent to a wheelie contest and expose Tuberville as a non-resident of Alabama.
“Nothing says ‘true Alabamian’ like a politician wheeling a two-wheeled death trap,” the release read.
The campaign also claimed McFeeters was temporarily turned away from the emergency room after being “asked to return to his truck to stow his North American Arms .22 Magnum pocket pistol and Benchmade knife” before entering the building.
The campaign wrote that McFeeters, “took the hospital wait in stride, reflecting on how ‘it pays to be flexible,’” and will be “moving gingerly for a few weeks.”
“I mean, it’s the third day and it’s still hurting,” McFeeters told APR.
McFeeters said he initially attempted to walk off his injury, but eventually went to the ER out of fear he may have damaged his spine.
“The main reason I went, is I don’t like a whole lot of pain medicine. I don’t like anti-inflammatories. I don’t think it’s good for your gut flora, so I don’t like to take them. I was just going to stretch it out, and I’m trying to move it a little bit and it’s hurting like hell. It’s like I needed to make sure I don’t have a spinal cord injury, because if you do that, you know, you can paralyze yourself,” he said.
According to McFeeters, although he’s loved motorcycles since an early age and still rides his 125 Honda Monkey and 150 Honda Adventure Scooter, he hadn’t attempted a wheelie since his teenage years.
However, after watching a YouTube tutorial on how to pull the stunt, he said he felt confident enough to attempt it to call out Tuberville.
“I figured, well, this is a great way to, you know, challenge Tuberville, and I know he wouldn’t do it,” McFeeters said. “Just like, if you’re from Alabama, by God, you can ride a wheelie on a motorcycle, and it’s like—it didn’t turn out so well.”
“Don’t trust YouTube videos. They don’t teach you everything,” he continued.
According to McFeeters, he has not heard from Tuberville following the incident.
“He has not called me to check on me,” McFeeters said. “He hasn’t called. I’m shocked.”
McFeeters is a former U.S. House of Representatives candidate and past president of the Mid-Alabama Republican Club. He is currently the only Republican running against Tuberville.
