Former candidate says GOP shirked due diligence in Cole case
The Alabama Republican Party could have resolved the dispute over whether David Cole lived in the district where he was running for an Alabama House seat last year, according to his would-be opponent in that race.
But the state GOP chose not to investigate Anson Knowles’ claim that Cole did not live in the Madison County district for a year before the election, as the law requires. Instead, the party kicked Knowles off the ballot because of his previous involvement with the Libertarian Party.
Cole ran unopposed in the primary, won the general election, and was sworn in as representative for House District 10 in November.
After a lawsuit filed by Cole’s Libertarian Party opponent in the general election and an investigation by Attorney General Steve Marshall, it’s now clear that Knowles was right. Cole did not live in the district. Last week, Cole resigned from the House, issued an apology, and agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of knowingly voting in a district where he did not live.
“They didn’t do their due diligence, is what I’m saying,” Knowles said. “They had an opportunity to. They were warned and they didn’t.”
In February 2022, Knowles sent the state Republican party evidence that appeared to show Cole changed his listed address to meet the residency requirement for District 10. Knowles sent the GOP candidate committee the required letter and form to challenge Cole’s candidacy.
But Reed Phillips, executive director of the state Republican Party, sent Knowles an email saying the party’s candidate committee declined to hear his challenge.
“My evidence wasn’t 100% foolproof,” Knowles said. “But it raised enough questions that they should have had a hearing.”
Knowles said the candidate committee could have, for example, asked for utility billing records to determine whether Cole lived in District 10.
“If they would have done that in this case, which I was told by prior members of steering committees that they do in these situations, then the situation would have been resolved immediately,” Knowles said. “No, David Cole actually did not live where he said he lived. They chose not to do that for some reason. Which I have no idea.”
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl did not respond to a request for comments on this story.
Last week, Cole, who is a physician and military veteran, sent House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter a letter resigning from his House seat. On Thursday, Cole’s attorney issued an apology on Cole’s behalf. And also on Thursday, court documents filed by Cole and Attorney General Steve Marshall indicate that Cole will plead guilty to knowingly voting in an unauthorized place — in House District 10 when he lived in District 4.
The crime is a Class C felony, punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison. The plea agreement calls for a three-year sentence that would be split, with 60 days served in the Madison County jail and the rest on unsupervised probation.
Knowles, 40, an accountant who lives in Huntsville, said the punishment sounds too harsh.
“My immediate reaction was that I felt sorry for David and his family because I wouldn’t want the power of the state putting me in a cage for 60 days or whatever it is because of something that probably should have been settled just with him resigning,” Knowles said. “That’s what I think the proper way to deal with it.
“That’s pretty harsh punishment. I can understand them doing it because it’s a lawmaker and the GOP is big on voter fraud and all that stuff, as to kind of make an example of him. But I don’t know, I just feel bad for him and his family to be honest with you.”
Last year, the state Republican Party kicked Knowles off the ballot in the District 10 race, citing previous involvement with the Libertarian Party. The same thing happened in 2019 when Knowles tried to run on the Republican ticket for Madison County license director.
Knowles said he was a member of the Libertarian Party from October 2015 to January 2017 and rejoined it in February 2023.
“I had worked really hard in the GOP,” Knowles said. “I was a chair of the Young Republican Club. I was on the Madison County Executive Committee for the GOP. It wasn’t like I was some Johnny come lately.”
Knowles said the Cole case was an example of people who control the Republican Party favoring certain candidates. He said the suspicions that Cole did not live in District 10 were widely known.
“The consultant class and the people with the money are the ones that control the GOP,” Knowles said. “So, they’re going to have their preferred candidates in the primary one way or the other. There’s a structural problem in the GOP that exists that I don’t think can be solved.
“It’s not going to get solved until the GOP basically has a come-to-Jesus moment and realizes that the money people controlling everything isn’t the right way to do it.”
Cole defeated Democrat Marilyn Lands and Libertarian Elijah Boyd in the general election in November.
Two weeks after the election, Boyd filed a lawsuit in Madison County Circuit challenging Cole’s candidacy over the residency issue.
Cole’s attorneys asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that under state law the court had no jurisdiction. They said only the House of Representatives had the authority to hear the challenge because Cole had already been sworn into office. Legislators, unlike many officials, begin their terms in November, one day after the general election.
Boyd’s attorney Barry Ragsdale disputed that. He said that while state law designated the House as the deciding authority in an election dispute over one if its members, the law also delegated to the circuit court the task of gathering evidence and taking depositions that could be used by the House to hear the challenge.
Madison County Judge Ruth Ann Hall denied Cole’s motion to dismiss. Cole’s attorneys appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court, but the court rejected the appeal.
Hall ordered Cole to give a deposition to provide information for the House of Representatives hearing the challenge.
Cole, who is a physician and military veteran, gave a deposition in May. Cole claimed to have leased a new residence in District 10 from a family friend to meet the residency requirement. But many of Cole’s answers in the deposition cast doubt on that, because Cole said he could not remember ever sleeping at the new residence and that his wife and children did not move there.
Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter said the Legislature’s attorneys were aware of the case and advised him on it but that the House had no opportunity to act.
Ledbetter said the law requires the circuit court to gather evidence and submit it to the legislature in the event of a challenge to pre-election qualifications. In order to comply with the state constitution, the evidence would have needed to be presented to the House before House members were seated at the organizational session in January, Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said the House did not receive Cole’s deposition until June 9, two days after the regular session of the Legislature ended.
Cole’s attorney, William Espy, issued the apology last week on Cole’s behalf.
“Dr. Cole admits and takes full responsibility for the mistakes he made in the political process,” Espy said. “He entered the process to serve his community. He has lived a life of service including serving for 22 years in the Army with tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt. The Cole family appreciates all the prayer and support from his friends and community during this time. Dr. Cole will continue to serve his community going forward.”
Read more: Madison County judge’s election contest order leads to sharp response
Supreme Court denies legislator’s appeal to dismiss contested election