A Montgomery County judge ruled that former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Morgan Murphy’s name must remain on the May 19 GOP primary ballot, handing Secretary of State Wes Allen a court victory in a fast-moving ballot dispute that emerged just days after Murphy withdrew from the race.

A signed final order was posted by Allen’s office Thursday. It marks one of the first ballot access flashpoints of the 2026 election cycle.

Judge James Anderson found that Murphy had submitted a notarized notice of withdrawal to the Secretary of State’s Office before the legal deadline, but ruled the notice was improperly submitted and did not trigger removal of his name from the ballot, according to the ruling.

The dispute hinged on whether Murphy’s withdrawal was handled in the manner required under Alabama election law.

According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, a candidate’s name will only be removed from a party primary ballot if the candidate withdraws with the party and the party certifies the withdrawal of its nominee to their office by the statutory deadline.

According to Allen’s office, no certification of withdrawal for Morgan Murphy was received from the Alabama Republican Party.

“I followed the law to the letter,” Secretary Allen said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“It is unfortunate that the court’s time had to be spent resolving an issue that Alabama law already makes crystal clear. With this ruling, voters can be confident that my office is acting in accordance with the law and that, despite baseless political attacks, we will continue to administer Alabama’s elections faithfully and correctly.”

Earlier this week, Murphy asked the court for emergency relief to force his name off Republican primary ballots after announcing Monday that he was ending his Senate bid and endorsing U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise).

In court filings, Murphy argued that leaving his name on the ballot would create voter confusion and could siphon votes from remaining candidates in the race. Allen’s legal team countered that Alabama law did not permit the Secretary of State to unilaterally remove Murphy’s name under the circumstances presented.

Alabama’s ballot-withdrawal statute sets the deadline for withdrawals at 71 days before the election.

For Alabama’s May 19, 2026 primary, that deadline fell on March 9 under the state’s official 2026 election calendar.