Fincher: GOP family feud growing in 2026

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By Brandon Fincher

“But they never mention me, I’m the black sheep of the family.” – from John Anderson’s song, “Black Sheep”

In some ways political parties behave much like an extended family.

Families form a bond from shared ancestors and shared experiences like family reunions or holiday get-togethers.

Political parties form a strong bond over their members’ philosophy of what government should and should not do to create a better world, even though the details can sometimes vary quite a bit.

There is another similarity. Much like when you are trapped in your third cousin’s third husband’s sales pitch on cryptocurrency on a sweltering July day and you are begging the Almighty to swoop in and cut you loose from this family barbecue, patience among political leaders within the same party can also wear thin.

In the past few months, the veneer of GOP harmony has rubbed off a little for Alabama Republicans. Part of this is natural. We are in election season, after all.

Living in a state where one party is dominant causes most of the venom in political campaigns to be spewed during the primary season since the biggest threat to Republican candidates are represented by other Republicans.

Maybe a little more surprising, though, is the angst among the Republican party members in the Alabama House of Representatives. The biggest ruckus was due to the leaking of audio from a Republican caucus meeting in February.

The selectively chosen audio that began making the rounds among media and party members was a recording of Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, saying, “I could give a **** about the Republican Party.”

I do not believe Ledbetter was trying to find a rhyme for “spit” when he uttered that phrase.

While he likely regrets his choice of words, Ledbetter had not suddenly changed his political spots when he said this. He was making a broader point about his focus being on electing Republicans to the House of Representatives rather than getting waylaid by broader party concerns.

A visit from Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Tommy Tuberville, R-Auburn, and a letter of support signed by all 75 of the other Republican House members calmed the choppy political waters for Ledbetter. However, it still left open the question of who leaked the recording.

Republican and Democratic caucus meetings in both the House and Senate are not meant for public consumption.

Caucus meetings are supposed to provide a space for party members to speak freely about their thoughts on legislation and political strategy without fear of public criticism. It is how the sausage gets made in both the federal and state legislative branches of government.

The source of that leak was never found, or at least never announced, but that brings us to last week. In another Republican House caucus meeting, Alabama Political Reporter editor in chief Bill Britt broke news that Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, was thrown out of the meeting after being accused of recording the meeting on his cell phone.

Alabama Daily News editor Todd Stacy described the incident as House Majority Leader Paul Lee, R-Dothan, having “snatched” the phone from Mooney’s hands, according to Stacy’s sources, before Mooney was told to leave the meeting.

Mooney would later release a statement saying, “Let me be absolutely clear. I did not, nor have I ever, recorded or attempted to record a Republican caucus meeting. That claim is simply false.”

Lee would later say Mooney is no longer allowed to participate in the Republican caucus. This is not a big deal at the moment with the Legislature likely finishing its regular session this week. What will be interesting to monitor is if Mooney is banned from the Republican caucus going forward.

Mooney is running for reelection in his same District 43 seat and faces no Republican opposition in the May primary. While he does face Democrat Taylor Cook in the November election, nearly three-quarters of the district voted for Mooney in the previous general election, according to Ballotpedia.

Barring an unforeseen and well-funded write-in campaign, Mooney will be back next year, so the prospects for Mooney and Lee to bury the hatchet to allow Mooney back into the fold will be something to monitor.

I think it is safe to say after four years of working together under the same State House roof, many Republicans are counting down the hours until they can pack up their annual Union Street barbecue and avoid their political kinfolks in the Legislature until 2027 when they will break in a new host venue across the street.

Brandon Fincher is an academic journal editor at Auburn University. He lives in Opelika with his wife, daughter and two Labrador retrievers. You can find his writing at brandonfincher.com.