Off The Record: The latest rumors and rumblings in Alabama
The deputy took his badge back
Cam Hunt, the Marine veteran terminated by Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones last October for simply announcing he was running against him, defeated the 28-year incumbent Tuesday by 307 votes. Jones fired Hunt on the spot when Hunt came to him as a professional courtesy to say he intended to run — and then made that firing the centerpiece of his defense. Hunt made it the centerpiece of his campaign. Voters sided with the deputy. Jones, who hadn’t faced an opponent since 2002, is done. Hunt takes over a department he’ll likely enroll in the ICE 287(g) program on day one — something Jones refused to do, a decision that looked a lot worse after a Guatemalan national wanted on a rape warrant shot two Lee County deputies with an AK-47 the morning after Hunt called Jones out for it at a candidate forum. As one local editorial put it: “I want a lawman, not a politician.” Lee County agreed.
Wahl threw the Never Trumper punch. Allen had the receipts.
John Wahl finished first in Tuesday’s lieutenant governor primary with 40% to Wes Allen’s 38%, and Allen came out swinging almost immediately. Allen drew first blood by dropping public records showing Wahl didn’t cast a ballot in the 2020 Republican primary — skipping a race that had both Trump and Tuberville on it. Wahl punched back by calling Allen the real Never Trumper, claiming Allen refused to endorse Trump in 2023 and put roadblocks in front of the Trump campaign. Allen then came back with a full stack of receipts: an amicus brief defending Trump’s ballot access, a public endorsement at the Huntsville Men’s Club, FEC donation records showing personal contributions to Trump, RNC attendance, and a voting record showing he pulled the lever for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Two days after the primary and these two are already throwing haymakers. June 16 can’t get here fast enough.
31-under and a year’s worth of Omaha Steaks
Our friends at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama hosted their annual Drive-Out Breast Cancer Golf Tournament this week, bringing plenty of competitive spirit for a good cause at the Old Overton Club. While golfers chased hole-in-one prizes ranging from golf gear to a year’s supply of Omaha Steaks, and even a Honda Civic, the most popular attraction may have been the massive air cannon capable of launching golf balls nearly 500 yards toward the green. We’re told several players suddenly looked tour-ready after getting a turn with it. The winning team apparently finished at a staggering 31-under par, earning bragging rights until next year’s tournament and perhaps a few accusations of sandbagging along the way.
House District 20 wasn’t close
Mo Brooks spent the week getting roasted by the President of the United States and lost to James Lomax anyway — by the margin political insiders told OTR weeks ago. Lomax walks away with his seat intact, his Majority Whip position secure and the quiet satisfaction of beating a former congressman who tried to make a comeback in his own backyard.
