HOOVER — For many, former Secretary of State John Merrill's decision to run for Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) chairman came as a surprise.
During an interview with 1819 News at an event hosted by the Alabama Republican Party, Merrill explained how his decision came about, saying that he felt encouraged by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) to seek the position.
"In May of last year, when I was in Washington, Coach Tuberville asked me if that's [running for party chairman] something I would be interested in doing. And I told him, at the time, that, really, we didn't need to talk about it, because there wasn't an opening. And he felt like there might be, because John Wahl may be vacating," Merrill said. "And so over the period of about six to eight months, when I would be with Coach, he would ask me, you know, are you going to run for party chairman? And I'm like, well, Coach, if there's a vacancy that comes up, we'll explore it."
"About three weeks ago, when I was in Washington, we talked about it again, and then he said, 'Are you going to do it?'" he continued. "I started talking to people, and then I had, in a span of three or four days, about 15 people called me, text me, ask me if I would consider running for state party chair. And so I started reaching out to people and asking them if they would consider helping me. And then they... After the sixth one, I said, I'm going to explore this. And that's how it started. I caught about 30 people, realized the support was there, and that's what initiated my campaign and got us to where we are today, where the commitments that we need."
Merrill said he's been calling members of the state executive committee and feels confident in the support he's received.
Tuberville declined to comment on the race.
A source close to Tuberville told 1819 News that the senior U.S. Senator has confidence in Merrill's ability to end the current infighting and manage the party through the next year.
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