A gay Alabama businessman and former police officer says GOP leaders refused to let him run for sheriff after a review including questions about his sexual orientation.
Jason White tells the News-Courier of Athens that members of the Limestone County Republican Executive Committee voted to deny his bid for sheriff earlier this week. He says that decision is almost certainly linked to the fact that he’s gay and is married to another man.
White is a former Athens police officer and did run for sheriff as a Republican in 2002. He was married to a woman at that time.
Noah Wahl, the chairman of the Limestone County Republican Executive Committee, released a statement saying it was White’s lack of involvement as a Republican rather than his sexual orientation that led to his rejection.
The 40-year-old White says he plans to run for sheriff as an independent, opposing the longtime Democratic incumbent Mike Blakely.