Democrat Lisa Ward Speaks Out After GOP Drops Powell In Senate District 21 Primary

LAKE VIEW, AL — Democratic Senate District 21 candidate Lisa Ward has released a statement following news that one of her Republican challengers had his name taken off the primary ballot Saturday.

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As Patch reported on Saturday, Republican Senate candidate and Tuscaloosa businessman Tripp Powell was dropped from the upcoming primary on May 24, after a complaint was filed against the Tuscaloosa businessman for donating $500 to the 2018 gubernatorial campaign of Democratic Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.

Multiple sources within the party informed Patch that the state GOP's Candidate Committee handed down the decision after the ballot challenge was filed during its meeting Saturday in Birmingham, reportedly by a Jefferson County political consultant.

"In the past 25 years, party politics have become so divisive that an invisible wall has been drawn between the parties," Ward said on Sunday. "And, we are reaping the log jam this has created on both state and federal levels. No longer are leaders working together to create solutions for working families. But rather, they are playing war games with their constituents who suffer for it."

Powell, 41, was set to face off in the Republican Primary against incumbent Sen. Gerald Allen, who has served in the Senate since 2010 and in the legislature since 1994.

"I deeply regret the action of the Party," Powell said in a statement to Patch Saturday evening. "I feel their actions were unjust and illogical."

As it stands, Allen and Ward are now the only candidates qualified to appear on the ballot and will face off in the November.

It remains unclear if Powell will challenge the decision in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court, but its important to note that political parties in Alabama have the final say on candidates to appear on the ballot in party primaries, which could make Powell's battle for a party nod that much more difficult.

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