Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill admits affair, won’t run for U.S. Senate: ‘There’s no excuse’

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After initially denying reports of an affair, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill on Wednesday afternoon told AL.com that he had “an inappropriate relationship” with a 44-year-old woman and will not make an anticipated run for the U.S. Senate.

“I will obviously not be a candidate for the United States Senate nor will I be seeking any other elected position in 2022, because I think it’s important to me to make sure that I become the man that I have been before and that I am working to put myself in the position to be the leader that I have been before, as a husband, as a father, as a friend and as an elected official,” Merrill said.

Merrill, elected Alabama’s secretary of state in 2014 and re-elected in 2018, and was term limited from seeking a third term in 2022.

Article URL: https://www.al.com/news/2021/04/alabama-secretary-of-state-john-merrill-admits-affair-wont-run-for-us-senate-theres-no-excuse.html