Yellowhammer News has learned that the Macon County Democratic Party has paid for and is distributing signs categorically accusing the 2020 Republican general election ticket of “racism.”
Yard signs have been placed across the county that feature a backdrop of a Confederate flag placed next to a banner for the campaign of President Donald J. Trump.
In large print on top of that imagery reads, “Racism is on the ballot.”
Below, the signs read, “Vote the straight Democratic ticket on Nov 3 and make a difference.”
The signs at the bottom in fine print note, “Paid for by: Macon County Democratic Executive Committee P.O. Box 585 Tusk. Inst. AL 36087 – Fred Gray, Jr. Chair.”
Fred Gray, Jr., is the chairman of the Macon County Democratic Party and the son of famed civil rights attorney Fred Gray.
At the recent grand opening of the Macon County Democratic Party’s headquarters building in Tuskegee, Gray, Jr., led a short chant of, “Keep our Senate seat,” before adding, “And we do that by voting for Doug Jones.”
“Doug Jones is our man. This election, we’re going to dump Trump, and we’re going to tackle Tuberville,” he said.
“We’re going to put in Joe Biden, and we’re going to keep Doug Jones. We’re going to vote for Democrats all the way,” Gray, Jr., added.
The county party’s Facebook page advises, “The Macon County Democratic Executive Committee is the local arm of the Alabama Democratic Party. … [I]t exists to: 1. Promote the ideals of the party’s platform in Macon County…”
There are federal and state races on Alabama’s November 3 ballot. The Macon County Democratic Executive Committee is not registered as either a state or federal PAC. Therefore, it is unclear where the funding for the signs came for and how much was spent on them.
Macon County, for those unfamiliar with this area of the Yellowhammer State, is located in-between Montgomery and Auburn when traveling on I-85. The county is home to Tuskegee University and voted 82.78% for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 general election. Alabama Media Group has deemed Macon County to be the Doug “Jonesiest” county in the state.
Jones’ campaign did not respond to Yellowhammer News’ request for comment on this story.
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Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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