Nov. 23 – A North Alabama state representative faces backlash from the Morgan County Republican Executive Committee after introducing a bill to prevent political parties from disqualifying candidates based on the source of contributions they receive.
Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Greenhill, filed House Bill 6 for the 2025 legislative session on July 28. The bill would “prohibit political parties from disqualifying an individual from candidacy for office based solely on the receipt of contributions from a particular person or a political action committee.”
In response to HB6, the Morgan County GOP Executive Committee passed a resolution demanding that Pettus be reprimanded for “blatantly interfering with the GOP’s right to police those under the umbrella of party flag and ensure that true conservatives are vetted for candidacy,” noting that GOP candidates are not allowed to accept contributions from the Alabama Education Association political action committee.
To censure Pettus, a majority vote by the House of Representatives is required.
Pettus previously introduced this bill during the 2024 session as HB186, but did not advance out of committee.
State law currently allows parties to set standards for individuals seeking to represent that party while running for office. HB6 would prevent a party from disqualifying a candidate based solely on the source of contributions.
In August 2023, the Alabama GOP State Executive Committee passed a resolution banning school board candidates and superintendents running as Republicans from accepting campaign donations from the National Education Association and its affiliate, the Alabama Education Association.
Morgan County Republican Party Chairman Julie Clausen and Morgan County Republican Executive Committee member Tom Fredricks say Pettus is trying to undermine the Republican Party’s state resolution by filing HB6.
“It’s a legitimate concern,” Fredricks said. “Political parties exist to bring together like-minded thoughts and like-minded people to advance the party’s agendas as defined by the party’s members, and we should be able to deny access to ballots to anyone we want, for any reason whatever reason, as long as it is possible. is consistent with the beliefs of the party’s members.”
Pettus, a GOP executive committee member, said he sponsored HB 6 because he doesn’t want lawmakers to fall under the same party canvass as candidates for school boards and superintendents. He said he opposed the GOP resolution.
“They succeeded in blocking candidates running for school board and superintendent from receiving AEA money and they made a statement that day that legislators were next,” Pettus said. “Andrew Sorrell (state auditor) was the one down there saying that the legislators shouldn’t run for another two years and that we had plenty of time to do that.
“Why should they decide who and what organizations can give lawmakers money?”
Fredricks said he doesn’t believe the Legislature should control the actions of political parties in the state and that a party “should be able to define itself.”
Pettus said it doesn’t matter which organizations a Republican candidate receives contributions from, as long as the candidate’s positions are consistent with the Republican platform. According to Secretary of State records, Pettus has received contributions from Alabama Voice of Teachers for Education (A-VOTE), the AEA’s political action committee.
“What if I take money from the (Poarch) Indians?” Pettus said. “Just because I accept a contribution from someone doesn’t mean I’m not conservative.”
Pettus said his bill only targets political parties that disqualify candidates based on the money they receive, and accused the Republican Party of Alabama of wanting too much control over who represents the GOP brand. He was referring to Senate Bill 289, passed in May 2023, which allows political action committees to make contributions to political parties.
“It’s basically like a dictatorship; they want control of everything,” Pettus said. “What the Republican Party wants is for all the lobbyists to send money to the Republican Party and the Republican Party decides which candidate gets the money, and that basically means they want control over all the money.”
Pettus said neither the state GOP nor the Morgan County GOP should have a say in whether or not he gets on the ballot, leaving that solely up to his constituents in western Lauderdale County.
“The bottom line … is that my voters have no say in whether I run or not,” Pettus said. “Eight people across the state will decide whether I get on the ballot or not, so that’s a dictatorship.”
Referring to the 2020 Limestone County Commission District 4 race, Pettus said challenger LaDon Townsend was removed from Limestone County’s Republican ballot during the Republican primary because he contributed money to former Sheriff Mike Blakely, a Democrat. Townsend then ran as an independent and defeated incumbent Republican Ben Harrison.
Pettus also noted the inconsistency of the Republican Party wanting to control the source of contributions a candidate receives but not wanting to convict President-elect Donald Trump for his contributions to Democratic campaigns before 2009 while he was still a registered was a democrat.
“If you put Donald Trump in Alabama, Donald Trump can’t run for office in Alabama because he gave money to a Democrat,” Pettus said. “But they don’t want to talk about that. They’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re all for Donald Trump.'”
Fredricks and Clausen said Trump was looking for a new party after no longer joining the Democrats.
“When you switched 18 years ago, it was majority Democratic (in the state), so a lot of them switched, not because they changed their minds, all they had was the Democratic Party,” Clausen said. “Switching from Democrat to Republican in 2024, that’s a little weird.”
Clausen said the Morgan County GOP is currently screening candidates through a questionnaire they must answer.
“We look at their background to see who has contributed to them in the past and if they are a previous officeholder,” Clausen said. “It’s not just about who gave money, we also look at other things. We had a challenge to one candidate due to moral issues. It’s a committee that votes on it and if they decide to challenge it, it goes before the leadership. committee.”
Fredricks said if Pettus disagrees with the Republican platform, he should run as an independent or Democrat.
“This has nothing to do with the platform, it has to do with money,” Pettus responded. “I support the platform and I’m very conservative. You can look at my voting record and see it. Talk to the teachers in my district and ask them if I’m helping the schools. That’s who I represent.”
Pettus said his bill would not prevent state or county Republican parties from disqualifying candidates based on prior Democratic affiliation; it would merely end disqualification for campaign contributions received.
Additionally, he said, the Alabama Education Association is not the same organization it was years ago.
“Most of the teachers in my district belong to AEA and most of them are Republicans,” Pettus said. “They donate to the AEA and the AEA puts conservative candidates back in power. The AEA used to be a big Democratic organization. They now support more Republicans than Democrats and the leadership of the AEA that used to be is gone.”
Pettus also mentioned the Trial Lawyers Association and the Business Council of Alabama as contributors to Democratic campaigns years ago and said the state GOP should not single out these organizations because of their past ties. Fredricks admitted to receiving money from the Trial Lawyers Association in the past.
“I asked (Alabama Republican Party Chairman) John Wahl if he wanted the Democrats to take back control because if we can’t accept AEA money, what do you think they’re going to do,” Pettus said. “They’re going to the Democrats.”
Clausen accused state lawmakers of ignoring their county resolutions and said Pettus’ filing of the bill is just one example of that.
“I think they should let me do my job,” Pettus said in response to the Morgan County Republican Party. “I’ve been asked how the representatives don’t do what we tell them to do, and I said, ‘I don’t represent you, I represent the voters in my district.'”
He said the Morgan County GOP Executive Committee has to worry about its own representatives.
“They don’t have to worry about Lauderdale County,” Pettus said. “As long as my constituents in Lauderdale County are happy, I’m happy and I think I’m doing a good job.”
– wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
