A Limestone County man has filed a challenge to the candidacy of John Wahl to be the Republican nominee for the state's next lieutenant governor, saying he does not believe Wahl has been a resident of the state for the required seven years.
The most recent challenge comes from Tim Colling, a Republican from Limestone County who told 1819 News that he and a group of like-minded people in the area believe that, unless the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) can put a legitimate candidate on the ballot, the Democrats have a chance at victory. Colling sent a copy of his formal challenge to a handful of ALGOP State Executive Committee members on Thursday afternoon.
It is still unclear whether Colling met the deadline and requirements to file an official challenge under state law and ALGOP bylaws.
It is also unclear if Colling's challenge is the only one filed, since ALGOP chairman Scott Stadthagen declined to comment.
Questions surrounding Wahl's residency are not new. Certain spheres of the media that were specifically hostile to Wahl when he was ALGOP chairman accused Wahl of voting in the state with an illegitimate form of ID.
In the early stages of the most recent election, before the Republican primary, Wahl's former opponent, Secretary of State Wes Allen, bankrolled a residency challenge filed by former State Rep. Gil Isbell (R-Gadsden) on January 30. However, the ALGOP steering committee narrowly rejected Isbell's challenge against Wahl in February.
SEE: Wes Allen campaign bankrolled attempt to have Wahl disqualified from lieutenant governor race
"We're not expecting to get a ton out of it because of how corrupted everything is," Colling told 1819 News. "However, we don't think the Democrats, my little group, we think, the Democrats; they're dumb-o-crats, but they're not stupid."
"The lieutenant governor [nominee], John Wahl, who's the Republican candidate: by law, it says he has to have seven years' residency, and he doesn't. So it's like, we can't run him. It's like, the Democrats, if we don't do it, and remove him now so we can put in a real candidate, you know, they're going to bring it up, and we're going to basically be disqualified at the last minute, that we're going to lose.
Colling stated that his and the others' attempt at a challenge was not motivated by animosity. While Colling did not immediately provide the evidence provided to ALGOP, he claims to possess multiple proofs that Wahl has been a Tennessee resident within the past seven years.
"I don't know that John would be a bad lieutenant governor," Colling said. "But all this is public knowledge, and what's going to happen," Colling said. [Democrats] are going to wait until the middle or the end of August. They're going to file a challenge, and then we're going to have one campaign, commercial after another, on how he's an illegitimate candidate. And it's a non-election year, so there's a lot of people that are in favor of Trump that aren't going to vote.
If the challenge meets the legitimate requirements laid out in state law, the ALGOP Executive Committee will decide whether it warrants a full hearing.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), the party nominee for governor, recently underwent a residency hearing before the ALGOP. The party overwhelmingly sided with Tuberville against his challenger.
SEE ALSO: 'Glad this nonsense is over' — State politicos applaud ALGOP quashing Tuberville residency challenge
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