Governor Ainsworth?

I had such high hopes for a quiet Sunday.

I really should know better.

The last few days have been “interesting,” especially in the Alabama Governor’s race. A major revelation about Tommy Tuberville’s taxes (caused by his campaign’s Big Oopsie in not redacting the barcode with all the juicy details before they were released) had people talking about a Pulitzer Prize for Lagniappe and just whose head was going to roll in the campaign, among other things.

All weekend, my phone was blowing up with talk about some of the ALGOP Steering and Executive Committees catching the vapors over the thought of having to replace Tuberville on the ballot.

For the record, having seen some of the documents and reporting, and Whitney’s excellent timeline…I don’t know whether Coach is eligible to be Governor or not. I really don’t.

I know what Section 117 says about “seven years next.” I know that it should have already been determined by a real investigation by ALGOP’s Candidate Committee, not merely waved away months ago. At some point, there’s going to be a reckoning for the way several ballot access challenges were handled this cycle, but that’s a whole other issue.

I also know that the mere fact that we have to be wondering about Tuberville’s residency at all is a bad sign for the supermajority party.

At any rate, I was hoping for a relatively quite Sunday evening — chicken fingers, potato salad, ice cream, set up a few pieces for Monday morning drops and done — and then the phone started blowing up again.

“Will Ainsworth is going to be the nominee for Governor.”

There went my relaxing Sunday.

Naturally, I couldn’t just let that alone, not that I had much choice, with the calls and such. The precise whys and wherefores about Tuberville being replaced aren’t important right now — it’s all rumor and speculation, anyway — but several pieces seemed to fall into place, and the pattern that emerged makes a believable picture. Plausible, even.

Tuberville out, Ainsworth in. That’s the rumor. Is it true? Who knows? My official position on the “Ainsworth is the nominee” rumor is exactly what my position was on “is Tuberville running for Governor?” and “is Jones running for Governor?”

Until and unless I hear it from The Man Himself? It’s just a rumor. Nothing more, nothing less.

So, why write this now? For the same reason I wrote about the Tuberville and Jones rumors before they were confirmed — people are already talking about it, and that makes it comment-worthy.

The rumor is either true, or it’s not. If it’s not, then that gives us a few interesting days before Ken McFeeters’ challenge is heard on the 14th of this month. It also makes the break-in at his office even more worthy of attention. What was the person(s) looking for? And does that tie in to Tuberville being ousted at this late date?

If it’s false, it makes the 14th a very interesting day, indeed. Depending on what happens then? Well, we’ll have to see, won’t we?

BUT, if it’s TRUE? It’s going to be a brick thrown into the duck pond of Alabama politics. Tuberville has been the presumptive heir to the Governor’s chair since the day he announced. For that to suddenly not be the case will upset a lot of powerful people’s plans for the next four years — and some of them don’t take it well when their plans are disrupted. Money has been donated, hands shaken, promises exchanged, deals brokered, arrangements made — all assuming that Governor Tuberville would be there after Inauguration Day. If he’s not?

Some of that money has been already been spent. The handshakes, the promises, the deals, the arrangements? All for naught, or suddenly needing to be renegotiated with Nominee Ainsworth. 

Meanwhile, Doug Jones knows that the last time he won, there was chaos in ALGOP over Judge Roy Moore’s alleged indiscretions. Relatively speaking, that was nothing compared to swapping out nominees at this late date.

Here’s another question: how would ALGOP slip Ainsworth in? Have another special primary? Is that even possible at this late date?

Pull a Kamala Harris and just proclaim him the nominee? Oh, I can see that going over really well! (Yes, that’s sarcasm — both locally and nationally, ALGOP would be absolutely roasted if they did that, and deservedly so.)

Pity nobody’s already thought to mention Title 17 of the Code of Alabama, which allows for a Party Nominating Convention to be held to address just such a sticky situation. Pity there’s not a Summer Meeting coming up that could easily have a Convention added to it, and be used to fix this rumored mess. Pity that Convention, properly done, couldn’t be a major PR victory and launch Will Ainsworth’s campaign with a bang.

Yes, such a pity nobody’s thought about all that.

Oh well, it’s only a rumor at this point. No sense getting all stirred up about it.

After all, it could always be worse.

Two words: Governor McFeeters.

Dr. Bill Chitwood is the Managing Editor of ALPolitics.com. He is the author, under his nom de guerre Doc Contrarian, of Beyond MAGA: From Trump campaign slogan to political movement to restoring the Republic. He identifies as a Conservatarian Contrarian and a staunch Constitutional Originalist. He enjoys being called a First Amendment Nazi — mainly because he is.

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