Alabama Republican Party leadership voted unanimously on Sunday to dismiss a residency challenge against Tommy Tuberville, cementing him as the Republican nominee for governor moving forward.
Ken McFeeters, the Republican opponent who initiated the challenge, told APR that the hearing left him frustrated, calling it a one-sided and seemingly pre-decided affair.
“I asked for an extension to depose (Tuberville); I wanted to depose his wife (Suzanne Tuberville), the guys who prepared his tax returns,” McFeeters said. “They said I didn’t get a lawyer in time and didn’t allow that; I basically had no opportunity to present evidence.”
ALGOP invited press to the party’s headquarters on Sunday, but not to actually witness the hearing. Instead, Press waited in a conference room for Chairman Scott Stadthagen to arrive and unveil the result of the hearing.
Stadthagen spent just two minutes in announcing the party’s decision, insisting that the group entered the challenge with an open mind and that the bulk of evidence provided by Tuberville’s team established him as an Alabama resident for the past seven years, the requirement for eligibility.
According to Stadthagen, McFeeters was given 45 minutes to make his case, and then Tuberville had 45 minutes to defend the challenge. Stadthagen left the room without allowing the press to ask any questions.
“We instructed the committee members to set aside politics and partisanship and base their decision solely upon clarity and common sense,” Stadthagen said in a statement immediately following the press conference. “Coach Tuberville provided the evidence necessary to establish beyond any doubt that he fully meets the residency requirements to serve as governor, and the challenge failed to present any evidence that proved otherwise.
“It is time for the ALGOP to firmly close and lock this chapter and turn our full attention toward defeating liberal Democrat Doug Jones, increasing our supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature, reclaiming the congressional seat that federal judges wrongly denied us, and keeping Alabama the brightest red Republican state in the nation.”
After Stadthagen left the building, another person within the party directed press to a stack of contact cards for the court reporter who transcribed the closed-door hearing. APR has left a message with the court reporter seeking that transcript.
McFeeters expressed frustration with the clandestine nature of the proceedings, noting that ALGOP not only banned media from being present, they also took away the parties’ phones.
“Even before it started, my lawyers told me the fix was in,” McFeeters said.
