Dark money helped take down these incumbents

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May 26, 2026

Today in Alabama history: On May 26, 1916, Huntsville police officer Frank McKissack was fatally shot while trying to stop two people from boarding a train.

Something to think about

An image of a controversial mailer that circulating in Alabama House and Senate districts ahead of the Tuesday, May 19, 2026, primary. The mailer was paid for by the Alabama Values PAC.

Hi folks and happy Memorial Day week! If you're back to work today, here's a recap of a main storyline from Election Week: Dark money in Alabama politics.

This cycle included a surge of shadow money, claims lawmakers called "bald-faced lies" and the eventual defeat of several powerful incumbents.

Mailers from the Alabama Values PAC claimed several legislators

supported “free education” for undocumented immigrants.

Many lawmakers say the ads contributed to the defeats of three GOP incumbents: Sen. Greg Albritton of Atmore, Rep. Matt Simpson of Daphne and Rep. Phillip Pettus of Killen.

A different lawmaker targeted by Alabama Values told AL.com reporter John Sharp that he thought the attacks were connected to ALFA, and were driven by opposition to the lawmakers' positions on gambling.

Should Alabama improve campaign finance laws?

The basic issue, present in the local races and in the statewide U.S. Senate and Attorney General races, is that we simply don't know who is funding PACs that have Virginia or Tennessee or Texas P.O. boxes.

I've made an effort to connect some of the dots, but can only get so far. For example, AG candidate Katherine Robertson has faced accusations of dark money. We can see through disclosures that some of her out-of-state money is connected to friends at the Republican Attorney Generals Association.

John reports that Sen. Arthur Orr plans to reintroduce transparency legislation, but it would take a concerted effort -- and attention outside of election season -- to pass.

QUICKLINKS 🔗

Top Politics Stories

Catch up on recent stories from AL.com.

🗳️ Alabama's US Senate race shows Trump's endorsement alone won't seal the deal anymore.

📋 Here's the full lineup of Democrats and Republicans running in Alabama's four special primaries.

⚖️ Judges are questioning whether Alabama's special election timeline is even logistically possible.

🦈 A federal shark attack alert law named for a Mountain Brook teen is headed to Trump's desk.

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From D.C.: Trump compensation fund

Alabama’s U.S. senators are reportedly among the congressional Republicans opposed to President Donald Trump’s using a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” in part to compensate people who attacked law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol.

The fund, broadly panned by Trump's opposition, is for people who say they were wrongly investigated or convicted by the federal government, especially by previous Democratic presidential administrations. The federal Judgment Fund has never been used this way.

Britt told the Hill that anyone who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6 should not receive funds.

And Tuberville, though he defended the fund overall on the Senate floor, also said he didn't think violent people should be able to apply for compensation.

“Surely, we’re not going to award people money that hit a policeman or a cop, or like, we’re not going to do that,” Tuberville told journalist Jamie Dupree.

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See you right back here next Tuesday!

Thanks,

Ruth

Ruth Serven Smith is a senior managing producer at AL.com who leads community engagement and audience development initiatives. She moved to Birmingham in 2020 and is originally from Oklahoma.

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Dark money helped take down these incumbents

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