MONTGOMERY — Republican candidates for the leading offices up for grabs in the upcoming June 16 runoff election met in the capital city to debate policy issues at a forum hosted by 1819 News at the downtown Montgomery Performing Arts Center.
The debate included former Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl and Secretary of State Wes Allen for lieutenant governor, with Jay Mitchell and Katherine Robertson vying to be the state's next attorney general.
U.S. Senate candidates Jared Hudson and U.S. Rep Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) were slated to appear opposite one another. However, Moore canceled his scheduled appearance to return to Washington, D.C. for Congressional votes. Instead, Moore sent a video message to the audience, while Hudson gave a brief speech at the podium alone.
Moore announced his departure from the debate on Monday.
"I wish I could be in Alabama for the debate this evening, but the House will be debating and voting on budget reconciliation legislation that includes funding to secure our southern border and advance key priorities in President Trump's agenda. With such a narrow majority, every vote matters," Moore wrote.
Moore also shared the following video, which was shown to the attendees in the theatre.
Hudson took the stage last. After a brief speech on his qualifications for the U.S. Senate, he then targeted Moore's recusal from the debate, drawing into question the need for him to be there on Tuesday, since the hyper-contentious budget vote was not until the following days.
"We were supposed to have a debate tonight, and I hate that we can't because I would have loved for the people of Alabama to see the difference in me and my opponent," Hudson said. "However, he had to go do his job and vote in Congress, even though reconciliation votes are not until tomorrow and on Wednesday.
Moore did vote in the House on Monday: The Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act, which passed 392-0, and the Taxpayers Resources Used in Emergencies (TRUE) Accountability Act, which passed 384-0.
Moore painted his experience in Washington, D.C. as a significant advantage, stating, "We don't have time for on-the-job training in the United States Senate."
"We don't have time for a senator who's never cast a tough vote, never written a bill, and never had to stand firm when the establishment was breathing down his neck," Moore said in his video.
Hudson, on the other hand, paints his lack of political experience as a benefit rather than a hindrance.
"I don't promise you anything extra," Hudson said. "I'll give you truth. I'll give you righteousness. I'll give you justice. I've taken three oaths in my life: one to God when I gave my heart to Jesus, one to the Navy and the Constitution, and one to my wife, Lauren. The oath I promise you is the one I promised to the Constitution."
The debate in the lieutenant governor's race was the least contentious of the evening.
Although questions of residential legitimacy have been raised before between Wahl and Allen, the issue did not arise during the debate. Instead, the candidates spoke on their own perceived qualifications for the office.
"I'm a grassroots conservative," Wahl said. "For the last five years, I've been the state party chairman, and I've led the fight for common sense, for the values that we believe in [and] for the Republican platform. I've been on the front lines as we stand against the radical left, as we pushed back on the transgender movement, as we fought for lower taxes, as we fought for school choice, and so many of the issues that are near and dear."
Allen boasted of his previous legislative efforts while serving in the Alabama House of Representatives, before taking office as the Alabama Secretary of State in 2023.
"I chose not to run for re-election because I thought it was important to have the next lieutenant governor get in office and offer strong leadership," Allen said. "Everything rises and falls on leadership. If you do not get your leadership correct, whether it be at the local level, whether it be at the state level, whether it be at the national level, if your leadership is not correct, if you don't get it right, if you don't have leadership and alignment, everything will burn.
The pair both emphasized the need for strong relationships as lieutenant governor, with both believing their previous positions have made them the more relationally adept option for the office.
"I've got a great relationship with Donald Trump," Wahl stated. "I've been endorsed by Donald Trump, and he's going to be in the White House for the next two years. And you want a lieutenant governor who can go to Washington, D.C., and who can lobby for this state and bring things home for our state."
Wahl stated his main priorities in the office would be bringing better-paying jobs to the state, eliminating the state grocery and income taxes and improving education by removing "woke trash our of our classrooms."
Meanwhile, Allen expressed a desire to establish a state fraud task force to crack down on fraud in state government and to prioritize improvements in the state's timber industry.
In the AG race, Mitchell and Robertson had a few heated exchanges regarding campaign funding. However, the pair did not have much daylight between them regarding policy priorities, but did believe their individual qualifications made them a better fit for the office.
Mitchell highlighted his courtroom experience, citing his time in private practice before joining the Alabama Supreme Court.
"I'm, uniquely, the only candidate in this runoff who does have that," Mitchell said. "I spent 16 years in front of judges and juries, arguing big, tough, complex cases. Then I spent six and a half years on the Alabama Supreme Court. We're electing in our attorney general, not just the chief law enforcement officer, but the chief courtroom lawyer of the state. And it's critical that we have somebody with that experience."
Robertson, on the other hand, pointed to her tenure in Marshall's office and the victories she achieved while prosecuting and defending state cases.
"I have spent the last ten years in the AG's office trying to look for ways to make our state safer and our country freer," Robertson said. "I am a big believer in the policies that come out of Montgomery having a real impact on public safety from across our state. And I have done my level best to make sure that violent offenders stay locked up, that gang members never see the light of day [and] that executions happen on time. I have fought."
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