After being removed from the Republican primary ballot earlier this year, Angelo “Doc” Mancuso has secured enough signatures to qualify for the November general election ballot as an independent candidate in Alabama House District 7.
The Alabama Secretary of State’s Office verified that the campaign submitted the required number of valid signatures for ballot access, according to a statement released by the campaign.
Mancuso, a dermatologic cancer surgeon and former state representative, initially entered the HD7 race as a Republican challenger to incumbent Representative Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity. However, he was removed from the May 19 Republican primary ballot after a challenge.
The challenge ultimately went before the Alabama Republican Party Steering Committee, which voted to disqualify Mancuso from the primary. The decision came despite support from the Lawrence County Republican Executive Committee, which voted to back his candidacy and submitted a letter to state party officials.
After his removal from the Republican ballot, Mancuso announced plans to continue his campaign as an independent candidate. Under Alabama law, independent candidates must submit petitions containing signatures from registered voters to appear on the general election ballot.
Mancuso’s campaign organized volunteers throughout HD7 to collect the required signatures. The campaign later submitted the petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office for review and verification.
With the signature requirement met, Mancuso will advance to the November 3 general election, where he will face Yarbrough.
In a statement, Mancuso said the successful petition effort reflected support from voters across the district and described the outcome as an opportunity for residents to decide the race in November.
“Ernie Yarbrough and his cronies thought they could rig the process and deny voters a choice,” Mancuso said. “What they failed to understand is that the people of District 7 are tired of politics as usual. Their efforts to remove me from the ballot only strengthened our campaign and energized voters across the district. Thanks to the support of thousands of citizens, we have cleared a major hurdle toward earning our place on the November ballot, and now the voters—not political insiders—will decide who represents them in Montgomery.”
House District 7 includes all of Lawrence County and portions of Morgan and Colbert counties.
The contest has drawn attention and set up a general election matchup between the incumbent and his former primary challenger.
