Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Randy Kelley accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and national party chairman Jaime Harrison of “racial shenanigans” in the selection of the state’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August.
In a photocopied document, Kelley retroactively announced a press conference today at the same time Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed held a briefing to announce a new interim police chief would be handling the city’s spiraling crime problems.
“Because the Alabama Democratic Party has been hijacked, undermined, and discriminated against by the Democratic National Committee, I had a press conference for Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in Montgomery, Alabama at 424 South Decatur Street, to express my objection to how we have been abused by the national party and let the world know that we do not like it,” Kelley wrote.
“I hasten to add, I do not personally believe that President Biden knows about this.”
Leadership of the state party exchanged hands between Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC) and longtime Black political caucus leader Joe Reed and a short-lived regime change by DNC officials in 2019, which ushered in new bylaws and new leadership. Reed and Kelley have previously accused President Biden and former U.S. Senator Doug Jones of meddling in their fight for political control over the state party.
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In today’s statement, Randy Kelley claimed that all proposed delegates to the 2024 DNC were appointed, while no other state had the entirety of their delegates chosen for them.
“The illegal Delegates were appointed because those who appointed the false delegates did not want Blacks in Alabama to elect delegates of their choice. Since the black Democratic voting population in Alabama constitutes over 70% of the Democratic Party vote, it is clear the outcome of this action is to deny Black Democrats and the Black chairman of the Party an opportunity to elect delegates of their choice,” Kelley wrote.
“If Alabama had a white chairman, this would have never happened.”
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
