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Five Questions with Alabama Journalist Kyle Whitmire

And why you should care about a local story from Alabama

Joyce Vance

Feb 28

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Preview

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We no longer have a daily newspaper in Birmingham—I can remember when we had two, morning and evening, and a rich tradition of covering local as well as national news. But Kyle Whitmire is one of the local journalists trying to fill that space. A columnist, investigative reporter, and video creator at Al.com, Kyle is a legacy of the era of robust local journalism, covering politics, power, and the people they affect. He’s a native Southerner, observing Alabama with the keen eye of someone who has a finger on the pulse of the state.

I wanted to share some of his reporting with you all tonight. It underscores the importance of local journalism and reminds us that credible, fearless reporting serves a critical role: It holds the powerful, including our elected officials, accountable.

Kyle has a new foray into video journalism. I always read him, so I stopped what I was doing to watch a recent social media post, with this fascinating caption: “Republicans say they believe in voter ID, but when one of their own got caught in the snare, what happened? Donald Trump endorsed him. I give you the curious case of John Wahl.”

Who is John Wahl, and why should you care if you don’t live in Alabama?

John Wahl served as the chair of the Alabama Republican Party from 2021 until January 2026, when he resigned to run for Lieutenant Governor. In January 2023, he was elected as a vice chair of the Republican National Committee, representing the RNC's southern region. John Wahl also had a “little issue” with the ID he used to vote. Could it be? A Republican? And were there consequences?

I bet you can guess the answer to that—this is, after all, Alabama. You’ll still want to watch Kyle’s video (here on Twitter, Bluesky, or TikTok), but first, read Kyle’s answers to my five questions for him, below.

“Five Questions” is a periodic feature for paid subscribers, my way of thanking those who are able to support this work so that I can devote the necessary time and resources to it. Whether you’re a paid subscriber or not, I’m happy to have you here. I appreciate everyone who reads the newsletter and works to stay informed in this pivotal moment. Free subscriptions, with access to all of the other nightly posts, will always be available, so please sign up.