The Alabama Democratic Party’s State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) met Saturday under the leadership of Chairwoman Nancy Worley, who was absent from a previous meeting where SDEC members passed new bylaws approved by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), for another contentious meeting in Montgomery.

Among those in attendance for the meeting was Donovan McGuire, a local Democrat and member of the Dallas County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee, who witnessed first-hand the divisions still plaguing the party.

State Democrats have faced a number of difficulties recently, including a contested election, shoddy bylaws and the revocation of credentials, and Saturday’s meeting was only the latest – a faction within the previously held a meeting and voted to approve new bylaws, which had already been signed-off on by the DNC; during Saturday’s meeting, Worley’s faction approved a new set of bylaws, despite a lapsed DNC-imposed deadline.

Further, the bylaws approved Saturday do not have the support of the national party.

“From my understanding, the DNC accepted some bylaws already, but I’m still a little fuzzy on that,” McGuire said, noting that the back and forth within the party has been difficult to follow. “I think that, whatever happens, it could potentially affect us in the long run.”

The showdown between state Democrats will likely end up in court.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that Worley has scheduled a meeting for Nov. 16 to hold new elections for chair and vice chair of the state party, despite the fact that the dissident bloc that met prior to Saturday’s meeting had already approved a Nov. 2 meeting for the same reasons.

The confusion at the helm rippled through the crowd over the weekend, McGuire said, and many “hard discussions” could be overheard in various corners throughout the room.

Despite that, McGuire is optimistic.

“I think [disagreements happen] with any group,” McGuire said. “It’s my opinion that we just work through those differences for the sake of the party.”

If the divisions in the state party can’t be mended, Alabama Democrats may lose delegates to the Democratic National Convention, which will be hosted in July and select the party’s 2020 presidential candidate.

“I think it comes down to the part coming together and king of keeping our eye on the bigger picture,” McGuire said.

In Dallas County, Democrats are doing just that – the party is actively recruiting candidates for a wide array of positions.

“We’re just staying focused and waiting for directives,” McGuire said. “We’re still meeting and, in our minds, just trying to wait on what happens to keep up the work of the local and get things done.”