Baldwin School Board Member Andrea Lindsey Quits GOP After Complaint Over ‘Beat Her Terri!’ Comment in House District 96 Race

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — A Baldwin County Board of Education member says she has left the Republican Party, citing concerns over public education and the treatment of Republican candidates, just as a complaint urged local party leaders to act against her over a Facebook comment about a state House race.

Andrea Lindsey, who represents District 2 on the school board, notified Baldwin County Republican Party Chair Kathy Morelock and Vice Chair Jerry Ann McCarron on Friday, Oct. 30, that she was leaving the party and would consider herself an independent. She also said she has no plans to seek another public office and intends to retire from public life when her school board term ends in 2030.

“I am a true believer in public schools and do not feel the Republican candidates understand the needs of public schools,” Lindsey wrote to the party leaders.

The comment at the center of the complaint

The dispute centers on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election in House District 96, which includes Daphne, Spanish Fort and surrounding Baldwin County communities. Republican nominee Danielle Duggar faces Democrat Terri Osborne, who is transgender.

An unnamed Baldwin County resident sent a complaint to the local party citing a comment from Lindsey’s Facebook profile that read, “Beat her Terri!” The comment appeared on Oct. 29, the day before Lindsey resigned from the party.

“I am formally requesting immediate action concerning Andrea Lindsey, a sitting Baldwin County Board of Education member elected as a Republican who is now publicly supporting transgender Democratic candidate Terri Osborne against Republican nominee Danielle Duggar in Alabama House District 96,” the email said.

The complaint asks the party to:

• Investigate Lindsey’s public support for Osborne
• Determine whether her conduct warrants denial of future Republican ballot access
• Review earlier complaints and evidence submitted during candidate vetting
• Examine state and county party disciplinary provisions, including her standing in Republican organizations
• Refer the matter to appropriate Republican women’s organizations for review of her membership
• Provide a written response identifying the applicable bylaws, findings and actions taken

The complaint argues that Lindsey “makes decisions affecting nearly 31,000 children in Baldwin County” and questions whether she misled Republican voters. “If candidates can obtain Republican ballot access and subsequently encourage the defeat of Republican nominees without accountability, what purpose do the party’s candidate-vetting procedures and loyalty provisions serve?” it asks.

Lindsey responds

Lindsey did not say she explicitly supports Osborne, but she sharply criticized Duggar, who defeated two-term state Rep. Matt Simpson of Daphne in the May Republican primary. That campaign was contentious, with Simpson accusing a political action committee supporting Duggar of misrepresenting his legislative record.

“Danielle Duggar is a dangerously unqualified candidate who defeated her primary opponent through trickery and falsehoods,” Lindsey said in an email. “Matt Simpson has been and continues to be a friend to public education and the Baldwin County School System and I support people who support this system that I have worked for as a teacher and as board member.”

Her messages to party leaders described broader frustrations, including the conduct of primary campaigns, the party’s approach to teachers and its support for expanding the CHOOSE Act, Alabama’s program of taxpayer-funded education savings accounts for private school tuition and other approved expenses.

“I do not want to be part of a party that goes after each other,” Lindsey wrote. “I don’t want to be part of a party that says ugly things about teachers, and I don’t want to be part of a party that wants to expand the CHOOSE Act.”

She said she would still support Republicans who back public education. “I just need to vote for people who will help our public school system and, unfortunately for me, that is not people on the Republican ticket,” she wrote. “If there is one, they will get my vote, but it just is not looking that way right now.”

She also acknowledged the consequences. “I understand that you should publicly remove me from the party because I betrayed the party line,” she wrote, adding that she had “so much respect” for Morelock, McCarron and other Baldwin County officials.

What party rules say

The complaint cites an Alabama Republican Party rule stating that committees shall deny ballot access to a candidate who, in a prior election, publicly supported a nominee of another party or an independent candidate, among other conduct, unless a three-fourths committee vote allows an exception.

Because Lindsey has left the party and says she will retire from public office, the question of her future Republican ballot access may be largely academic. The rule also does not provide for removing her from her elected school board seat.

The party’s response

Morelock confirmed the resignation in a written statement. “Andrea Lindsey has resigned from the Republican Party,” she wrote. “The Baldwin County Republican Party is committed to further addressing her actions promptly and decisively. Appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the Party’s rules and governing procedures.”

On Monday, the county party also posted a statement on Facebook that did not name Lindsey but condemned Republican officeholders who back Democrats.

“When an official elected as a Republican publicly backs a Democrat running against a Republican nominee, they let down the voters who elected them and the party that put them on the ballot,” the statement said. It added that the party intends to enforce the state party rules and urged Baldwin County Republicans to support their nominees on Tuesday.

The school board has also recently come under scrutiny from critics over spending on curriculum and professional development tied to diversity, equity and inclusion.