Alabama Senate – Dakarai Larriett attacks fellow Democrat Kyle Sweetser in Alabama’s May 19 U.S. Senate primary over Sweetser’s stated Trump voting record.
A key fight inside Alabama’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary is sharpening, with one candidate accusing another of effectively failing the party’s test for values and alignment with the political direction of President Donald Trump.
In a press release ahead of the May 19 primary. Dakarai Larriett went after Kyle Sweetser. arguing Sweetser has “masquerad[ed]” as a Democrat while previously describing himself as a lifelong Republican.. Larriett framed the upcoming nomination as a chance for Alabama Democrats to select a U.S.. senator who will push policies tied to voting rights, education, health care, and economic opportunity.
Larriett’s central charge focused on Sweetser’s past voting history, alleging Sweetser voted for Donald Trump three times.. The claim is tied to Sweetser’s own August 2024 post on X. where Sweetser said he backed Trump in the 2016 Republican primary. the 2016 general election. and the 2020 general election.
Larriett argued that each additional vote for Trump should further disqualify a candidate from running as a Democrat. saying voting for Trump once reflects a lack of discernment and empathy. voting twice suggests agreement with Trump’s agenda. and voting three times should rule out any candidacy in a Democratic primary in any state.
He also pointed to his own campaign materials. including a March advertisement titled “Unmasking Kyle Sweetser: The Republican Running as a Democrat for Alabama’s US Senate!” The ad reportedly combines clips of Sweetser describing himself as a Republican with records of donations he made to Republican organizations as recently as December 2024.
In the same press release. Larriett emphasized his own biography and policy priorities. citing experience as a community advocate and corporate executive.. He highlighted advocacy for SNAP and Medicare funding. and he said he opposes Central Alabama Water’s controversial firing of more than 130 employees—positions he presented as examples of the kind of leadership he believes Alabama needs in Washington.
This is where the stakes of a primary fight become especially visible: parties use nominations to signal who they believe best represents their message to voters.. When the dispute centers on a candidate’s past party identity and prior support for a president. it shifts the contest from policy differences to a broader question of credibility with the electorate.
Sweetser responded in a written statement to APR. saying he would have no incentive to run as a Democrat in Alabama.. He told the outlet that any decision about whether he can be allowed to run as a Democrat belongs to the Alabama Democratic Party. and that the party had already made its determination.
Sweetser accused Larriett of acting like someone “losing” who is trying to “rig the election. ” arguing that Larriett is “looking and acting far more like a Republican” than Sweetser is.. He also pushed back sharply on the premise of the attack. saying it makes no sense for a Republican to choose what he described as the hardest path to victory by seeking the Democratic nomination. while Republicans. according to Sweetser. are in special session trying to rig the electoral map so that no Democrat can win Alabama.
Sweetser further questioned the intelligence of Democratic voters in Alabama. asserting that Larriett’s argument reflects a low opinion of the party’s primary electorate.. He framed the dispute as an attempt to cast suspicion on Sweetser’s candidacy rather than a substantive case for why Democratic voters should choose Larriett.
As the May 19 primary approaches, the race will bring three Democratic candidates to the same ballot line: Larriett, Sweetser, and Mark Wheeler, who will all compete for the nomination to face the eventual general election opponent.
For Alabama Democrats. the contest may ultimately hinge on how voters weigh Larriett’s insistence on political and voting alignment against Sweetser’s insistence that the Democratic Party’s process has already resolved eligibility and that Larriett’s argument is motivated by electoral desperation.. In a nomination fight, those competing narratives can matter as much as the platform itself.
Alabama Senate primary Dakarai Larriett Kyle Sweetser voting rights Donald Trump