Young Republicans of DeKalb County Issue Statement
Following Mention On Ballot Challenge
The Young Republicans of DeKalb County have issued a statement distancing themselves from any involvement in the recent ballot challenge that resulted in the removal of State Senate District 10 candidate Jesse Battles from the Republican Primary ballot.
The matter was discussed during an episode of KAPOW Media hosted by Jeff Underwood and Jerry White. The program focused on the ballot challenge heard Sunday by the Alabama Republican Party Steering Committee, which voted to remove Battles from the ballot.
Battles appeared on the program as a guest. Candidate Amy Dozier Minton also called in to discuss the issue. Andrew Jones, who had been invited to participate, was unable to attend due to obligations in Montgomery.
Several elected officials participated in the broadcast, including Joe Taylor, mayor of Rainbow City; Larry Means, mayor of Attalla; and Jamie Grant, among others. Additional callers also joined the discussion.
During the conversation, Dozier Minton said she knew there was more than one challenge to the ballot. She stated, “There was a number of people behind this challenge. There was not just one person.” She noted that she had recused herself from leadership roles she had held within the party when she decided to run for office and called for those who submitted the challenges to be named.
Dozier Minton said she believed that Battles’ attorney would address the matter and that he would remain on the ballot. She also said she “knew there were several young republicans in Cherokee, Dekalb, and Etowah county, and other counties also put in challenges, only one of them went through.”
She explained that she believed some of the challenges that did not proceed may have been “superficial” and not in violation of the Alabama GOP bylaws. According to Dozier Minton, the challenges coming from the “Young Republicans had challenges that they had against Jesse related to young Republicans.” She added that the “older establishment republicans” had other issues.
When confronted with the assertion that the decision was not made by locals who filed the challenge, Dozier Minton responded, “Yes it was., I am telling you, there were a large number of people that signed petitions that went down there. Yes it was.”
She further stated that she believed there were multiple reasons for the challenge and that additional details would need to be obtained from the state GOP.
Following the program, the Young Republicans of DeKalb County released a statement distancing themselves from any involvement in the challenge process. You can read their statement here:
To listen to the full episode, or to follow KAPOW, you can find it here:
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Previous WEIS coverage of the Ballot Challenge is below.
