February 21, 2022 Group Watch: State GOP Removes Two Candidates from Primary Ballots
In a meeting on Saturday, the Alabama Republican Party’s Candidate Committee voted to take Tripp Powell off the primary ballot in the Senate District 21 race. The Committee held the vote in response to a challenge filed against Powell’s candidacy. The complaint stems from Powell’s $500 campaign donation in 2018 to Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox’s gubernatorial campaign. Maddox is a Democrat. Patch could appeal the decision, but it’s unclear whether he’ll head down that path. He did tell news outlets that he felt his Party’s actions in the matter were “unjust and illogical.” Another candidate met the same fate. Teresa Rhea, who was vying to be the GOP candidate for Senate District 10, was also removed from the primary ballot during Saturday’s meeting. This move ensures incumbent Senator Andrew Jones will serve a second term, as he has no other primary challengers, and no Democrat has qualified to run. Jones called Rhea’s Republican loyalty into question, pointing out that while she voted in the 2018 and 20120 Republican primaries, she also voted on the Democratic Party ballot in a 2017 special election. And her retired Etowah County Judge husband had been a Democrat during his time on the bench.
