Ken McFeeters told Alabama Republican Party officials he is willing to voluntarily drop out of the race and endorse another candidate if the party removes Tommy Tuberville from the ballot and meets other demands.
McFeeters said he informed some members of the party’s steering committee that if it removes Tuberville for cause, he would not stand in the way of a better candidate.
“I’ve made a lot of people angry, like Tuberville has,” McFeeters said. “I’m smart enough to realize that. I have received a lot of hate mail. I want the party to be strong, and if there’s a better candidate that will bring people together, I will step aside. I don’t want a fight—that has never been my goal in this. I just wanted the party to follow the laws of this state and hold people to the same standards. I talked to a couple of people on the steering committee and made that clear.”
McFeeters’ conversations with steering committee members were part of a heated discussion during a pre-hearing Zoom meeting Monday between McFeeters, his attorney, an attorney for the Alabama Republican Party and attorneys for Tuberville, according to McFeeters and another source who spoke to APR. McFeeters was accused of violating party rules by speaking to members of the committee ahead of its June 14 hearing to make a final ruling on Tuberville’s residency issues—a contest brought by McFeeters.
Tensions were already high before McFeeters’ conversations with committee members, following a tough week for Tuberville’s camp. After the party announced last Monday that it would allow McFeeters’ challenge to proceed, Tuberville’s attorneys released his redacted tax returns and other documents—a move that should have boosted the campaign and answered long-lingering questions about the sitting U.S. senator’s residency.
If anything, it made things worse.
Tuberville’s attorneys failed to remove a barcode from the tax returns, allowing anyone with a bit of tech savvy to scan the barcode and access Tuberville’s full, unredacted returns. Numerous media outlets and others around the state viewed the unredacted records, and Lagniappe Daily published much of the information, while withholding sensitive personal data, including Tuberville’s Social Security number and driver’s license number.
The numbers within the unredacted documents raised new issues and questions, and the spectacle of a gubernatorial frontrunner’s campaign making such a mistake sent the Alabama political world spinning.
By Monday morning, what was supposed to be a fairly benign party hearing process designed to allow Tuberville to get out in front of a potential legal challenge to his nomination had become a true problem. Rumors were circulating that steering committee members were taking the task seriously, that Tuberville could be in trouble and that potential replacement candidates were being discussed.
How likely any of that was or is remains to be determined—and much of it seemed relegated to the fringes of the party—but that had not stopped the gossip. One opinion piece in an online publication included a story about Tuberville being replaced, complete with a photo of a smiling Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, the rumored replacement.
Whether the committee is truly willing to remove Tuberville remains to be seen, but it does appear ready to grant McFeeters the full hearing promised in its bylaws. Two sources within ALGOP leadership told APR on Monday that the party plans to grant McFeeters his subpoenas for testimony and documents allowed under party bylaws, and that Tuberville—whose attorneys told McFeeters last week that he was too busy to sit for a deposition—would be required to adhere to those bylaws as well.
McFeeters said the tension was evident when he entered the party’s pre-hearing Zoom meeting Monday morning. He said he soon encountered angry outbursts from attorneys who accused him of trying to unduly influence committee members. Party bylaws forbid participants in a hearing from interacting with committee members beforehand.
McFeeters said he was not attempting to influence the committee members, but was instead seeking to make clear that he would not fight the party if it chose a more viable candidate. However, he also had a few demands.
“I told the people I spoke with that I just want a few things—things that I think will make the party stronger and the state better,” McFeeters said. “People were telling me that I was going to sue if they replaced me. That’s not true. I just want the process to be fair and for everyone to follow the law. If they do that and promise to do the things I asked for, I have no problem getting out of the way and making the party better.”
Among McFeeters’ demands were firing State Health Officer Scott Harris; posting Article 1, Section 35, of the state constitution at every entrance of the new State House; renewing focus on helping small farmers; teaching Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues in every public school; and establishing a trust to fund a lobbyist to ensure those issues are pushed each legislative session.
