The Alabama lieutenant governor runoff moved directly into a residency fight Monday night as Secretary of State Wes Allen and former Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl traded accusations over ballot eligibility.
The exchange came during the Shelby County GOP candidate forum, where voter-submitted questions pushed the June 16 runoff into the same residency fight that has followed Wahl’s campaign for months.
Allen was asked about reports that his campaign financed an effort to remove Wahl from the ballot. Allen did not deny the report.
“Well, if I would have been on the state executive committee, I would have done it myself, plain and simple,” Allen said.
Allen then turned directly to Wahl’s Tennessee ties, saying Wahl previously held a Tennessee driver’s license while also being registered to vote in Alabama.
“You can’t be a citizen and a resident of two states at the same time,” Allen said. “You’ve got to pick.”
Wahl defended his eligibility and said the controversy comes from the fact that he had maintained a second residence in Tennessee while living near the state line.
“I did have a residence on both sides,” Wahl said. “I’ve never disputed that. There’s nothing illegal about it. There’s nothing wrong about it.”
Wahl pointed to Section 117 of the Alabama Constitution, which requires a governor or lieutenant governor candidate to be a resident citizen of Alabama for seven years before election. He said he is confident he could defend his eligibility in court.
He then turned the residency argument back on Allen, citing Section 118 of the state constitution, which requires constitutional officers, except the lieutenant governor, to reside at the state capital while in office.
“If I’m not eligible to run for lieutenant governor, he’s not eligible to serve as secretary of state,” Wahl said, pointing to Allen’s voter registration and driver’s license being in Troy.
Wahl also cast the ballot challenge as the kind of political maneuver Republicans condemned when Democrats tried to remove President Donald Trump from the ballot.
“I don’t like political games behind the scenes trying to remove your opponent from office or off the ballot,” Wahl said. “This is the same thing they did to Donald Trump.”
Beyond the residency fight, Allen pitched experience. He pointed to his service as Pike County probate judge, his time in the Alabama House, and his current role as secretary of state.
“There’s nobody more prepared to help Tommy Tuberville get his agenda passed than myself,” Allen said.
Wahl pitched himself as the outsider candidate, leaning on Trump’s endorsement, his tenure as ALGOP chairman, and his push to phase out Alabama’s income tax.
“Florida does not have one. Tennessee does not have one. Mississippi is working on phasing theirs out. Georgia is working on phasing theirs out,” Wahl said.
The Alabama lieutenant governor runoff is June 16.
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
