Who Picks the Nominee: The Party or the People? ​

By Christopher M Peeks February 23, 2026

​In the most recent Alabama political news, the Yellowhammer State’s Republican Steering Committee has exhibited a resemblance more recognizable of the former Soviet Union’s Central Committee. This body has removed members in a fashion reminiscent of a 1930s Stalinist purge.

​In the race for Lieutenant Governor, Pastor Dean Odle was the first to get the ax. There is no doubt the Reverend from Opelika violated the state’s sore loser law when he ran a write-in campaign in the 2022 general election against the Republican nominee, Governor Kay Ivey. However, in reality, the committee simply flexed its muscles by enforcing this rule against Odle because Bobo the dancing bear would likely receive more votes than him. He is a non-factor; in the last governor’s race, he received less than 1% of the vote. I believe they should have let the eccentric minister stay on the ballot just to pacify his supporters so they could not cry foul.

​The removals of Jessie Battles, Angelo "Doc"Mancuso, and Jessica Ross were egregious overreaches of power by a handful of members seeking to shape the election like a communist regime.

​Neither Battles, Mancuso, nor Ross broke the sore loser law, and all alleged infractions occurred outside the six-year window. Battles worked on Craig Ford’s independent State Senate bid in 2018. Mancuso served as a Democrat in the House from 1999 to 2003 and last sought a State Senate seat as a Democrat in 2014. Ross was removed simply for voting in the Democratic Primary in 2020.

​Where will this end? Mancuso had the backing of the Lauderdale Republican Party, and many viewed Battles as the odds-on favorite to defeat incumbent Andrew Jones.

​This is asinine when considering that the Speaker of the House, Nathaniel Ledbetter, ran as a Democrat in 2010, did not switch parties until 2013, and most recently stated he didn't give a shit about the Republican Party. Make it make sense!

​This situation is reminiscent of the Baxley-Graddick fiasco forty years ago, which signaled the end of Democratic Party dominance in the state. I am reminded of a bumper sticker the Graddick supporters released back then: Who picks the nominee: the party or the people?