'I Am A Republican': Madison County Candidate Details Alabama GOP Committee Snub

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Anson Knowles is a far-right candidate for Alabama House of Representatives District 10 who touts an endorsement from controversial Donald Trump acolyte Roger Stone, along with the campaign slogan "The Middle of the Road is the Path to Socialism."

Or, at least he was a candidate.

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Knowles is the latest to come forward after his bid to appear on the Republican primary ticket on May 24 was dropped by the Alabama Republican Party Saturday night, during what can only be described as one of the oddest days in recent memory for the party.

As part of the closed-door meetings, the evening saw Tuscaloosa businessman and Republican candidate Tripp Powell dropped from the GOP Primary, as well, in the race for Alabama Senate District 21, effectively handing the Republican nomination to longtime incumbent Sen. Gerald Allen. This was due to a $500 donation given by the Tuscaloosa businessman to the Democratic gubernatorial primary campaign of Mayor Walt Maddox in 2018.

And like Powell, Knowles said he was left with more questions than answers when he received word that his name would not appear on the GOP primary ballot.

"The evidence presented against me was in closed session, so there's no way to know what was said," Knowles told Patch on Monday, before mentioning that he was never provided with a physical copy of the ballot challenge to know who was responsible. "The challengers were given the opportunity to speak for five minutes, but I can't speculate what that decision-making process was, because I wasn't in the room."

Knowles did explain, though, that the decision was made by the Committee due to his past connections to the Libertarian Party in Madison County.

He then referred to the GOP's Steering Committee, which provided no feedback as to why it decided to remove him from the ballot, referring to the governing body as a "kangaroo court."

Despite openly admitting to his past Libertarian leanings, Knowles went on to say he has also contributed funds to many Republican candidates for public office in recent years.

But, as seen in several other instances during the Alabama GOP Winter Meeting Saturday night, Knowles expressed his frustration with the lack of rationale provided by the Committee in making its decision to drop a candidate who has a record of voting in almost every GOP Primary and primary runoff he has been eligible to participate in.

While one party official told me the practice of removing candidates from the primary ballot is not, in itself, uncommon, it's the follow-through by the committee that raises concerns. Indeed, Cullman resident and Alabama GOP Committee Member Jackie Curtiss Cox explained on Sunday that her ballot challenge in a race for Cullman County District Attorney failed, even though much more was provided in the way of evidence when compared to the decision handed down concerning Powell.

This is a situation for both Knowles and Powell that is made that much more frustrating by the lack of transparency from a Committee that casts discrete votes with remote controls or "clickers" in an effort to protect the identities of committee members when they vote on divisive issues.

The decisions of the party's Steering Committee first came into question when Powell was dropped for the Maddox donation. Despite not holding elected office and his voting record showing a Republican vote during the 2018 General Election, party officials were unsympathetic to Powell's appeal Saturday night, with one saying "you can't be a little bit pregnant."

After being contacted by Patch for comment, Committee Vice Chair Josh Dodd reiterated his opinion that while the party's previous position had been to only prohibit elected officials from donating to campaigns of opposing political parties, the majority of the Committee was now of the belief that the rule should be extended to candidates, as well.

The Committee does, however, allow for a six-year statute of limitations for candidates, which allows the committee to overlook the past involvement in Democratic Party politics by the likes of incumbent GOP Sen. Gerald Allen — who switched parties in 1998 — in addition to longtime U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and even former President Donald Trump.

Powell is still weighing his options and told Patch he is considering a possible run as an independent, going on to say he has little use at the moment for the broken party structure.

Knowles, on the other hand, said it was the GOP or nothing for him.

"I am a Republican," Knowles told me. "I just finished telling a room full of people Republicans that I am a Republican. I will not run unless the GOP allows it."

Alternately, both Powell and Knowles have the option to appeal the Committee's decision to a higher power if they can gather the signatures of 50 members of the state executive committee, which would then force the chair of the party to call a special meeting. If a quorum is reached at the special called party meeting, then the appeal of the decision of the Steering Committee could be voted on.

As Patch previously reported, timing presents an issue, with requirements for advertising the meeting that could prove a problem in a campaign where every day matters.

"It's kind of a mess but there is a process," Cox said on Sunday. "[The decision to drop Powell] wasn't consistent. If they had gone in and kicked off everyone [from the ballot] who had given money to Democrats, then that would have made more sense. The process was just not fair."

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