One week before primary, AL-02 GOP candidates pitch platforms at Barbour County forum

EUFALA — Five of the six Republican candidates in a special primary in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District made their pitch to voters in Barbour County Tuesday night, one week before the election. 

The district, which covers the Wiregrass, the eastern portion of the Black Belt and the capital city, was redrawn by a May U.S. Supreme Court order. The order allowed the state to use a Legislature-passed congressional map, which had previously been ruled racially discriminatory, instead of a court-ordered one. 

Following a special session of the Legislature, Gov. Kay Ivey in May called a special primary election for the district, along with Alabama’s 1st, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts. 

The candidate with the most votes will be the party’s nominee; the legislation setting the election did not provide for a runoff. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, in November.

The candidates

Candidates randomly selected speaking order at the event Tuesday evening, hosted by the Barbour County Republican Party. Joshua McKee, a U.S. Army veteran and business owner, said voters should choose a candidate that will go to D.C. for them, not themselves.

“I’ve sat on the sidelines, and I’ve been just as angry by electing someone that self-serves. How about having a servant that serves you, transparent, available and serving you?” McKee said. 

He said he would make his campaign finances into a non-profit organization so that voters would be able to see where his money came from and where it is being spent. 

In an impromptu question-and-answer segment, McKee promised to “stop investing in corporations and start investing in the communities.”

“The money needs to go to you,” he said. “It needs to go to the mom and pop shops, the brick and mortar that sustain the communities.”

Hampton Harris, a small business owner and part-time lawyer, promised that if elected, he would not raise taxes for Alabamians and would support abortion restrictions.

“I will stand to fight for the life of the unborn and for our children to make sure that we protect every life, that we protect our children, that we keep the government from telling parents how they should raise their children and how they should educate their children,” Harris said. “I will fight to make sure we take care of our military.”

Harris qualified for the race before the Legislature redrew the district in May. Like McKee, he urged voters to choose a candidate who is running “for the right reasons.” 

“I jumped in this race because it was the right thing to do. It was going to be an uphill battle, but I wanted to do it to fight, and I will continue that fight. If you send me to D.C., we will win,” he said. “We’ll carry on the tradition and the legacy of Charlie Kirk and get young people involved, and we will take this district back.”

David Matthews, a former Trump appointee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said he understands the inner workings of D.C. policy. 

“We haven’t had a farm bill since 2018, and our farmers need help. I have experience that can help get the farm bill passed,” Matthews said.

The bill would provide support for farmers, including improved access to credit, expanded investments in specialty crops, increased transparency in fertilizer markets and enhanced research and conservation programs.

Matthews said that with a low turnout expected in the primary, it is important to choose a candidate with comparable experience to go against Figures.

“Thirty thousand people or less are going to decide who runs up against a Shomari Figures, and this guy has very similar experience to what I have, just not as useful,” he said.

A message seeking comment with Figures was left Tuesday evening. 

James Richardson, a Marine Corps veteran, said he took an oath when he joined the military and he promised to keep that oath in Congress.

“Freedom is not free, but I felt the call to service again because I felt Washington doesn’t hear us anymore. I feel like we’re treated as numbers on a spreadsheet,” Richardson said. 

Richardson’s top priority is to address veterans’ healthcare. He said he lost his father, a veteran, to suicide because he could not get the mental healthcare he needed at the VA hospital.

“He gave his life to this country, just like I am every single day, willing to give my life for each and every one of you. So I ask on August 11th, send a vet to fight for you who knows the cost of freedom,” he said. “Send a Marine to beat Shomari, because a Marine will hold the line and I’ll never back down.”

Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise touted his endorsement from President Donald Trump six times during his short speech. He said his experience as a legislator also makes him the best candidate to beat Figures. 

“I am very proud to have President Trump’s endorsement in this race, and I am. This is not only going to be an important race for the state of Alabama, but it is for this country,” he said. “We have a chance to flip a [Democratic] seat back to the Republicans.”

During the question-and-answer session, each candidate asked about deploying troops to Iran said they did not support that. However, Marques said the priority is to eliminate Iran and groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

“They are the head of the snake, and we’ve got to cut off the head of the snake,” Marques said. “Obviously, we do not want to send people in there to get that and change the regime, but I’m going to support our troops wherever they go, if that’s what it takes. We cannot continue letting this fester.”

A sixth candidate, Christian Horn, was not present at the forum. 

Jerry McGilvray, chair of the Barbour County Commission, urged attendees to tell everybody they know to go vote. He said that Tabitha Isner, vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, is “doing God’s work” by encouraging Democratic voters to cast ballots in the GOP primaries.

“You can take that for what it’s worth, but I think that we need to be very cognizant of the fact that Democrats vote in Republican primaries. I don’t know of any Republicans that dare vote for a Democrat in their primary, because I don’t think it’s anything they believe that we could support,” he said.

The Alabama Republican State Executive Committee on Saturday approved a resolution to add party registration, or closed primaries, to its official party platform.

“The state legislature dropped the ball,” McGilvray said. “If that comes up again in the Legislature, we would need some help to help get that done.”

Campaign finances

According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Marques raised $1.3 million and spent $1.1 million as of July 22. He has $187,000 on hand. 

McKee has raised about $521,000 and spent almost $525,000 through July 22.

Harris has raised $245,500 and spent about $82,000. He has about $163,000 on hand. 

Matthews has raised more than $47,000 and spent about $36,000. He has about $12,000 on hand. 

Richardson has raised about $7,600 and spent about $7,400. He has $26 on hand.

Horn has not reported any fundraising. 

Figures has raised $1.3 million and spent about $700,000 through July 22. He has about $662,000 on hand.

How to vote

Republican voters in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District can choose between Harris, Horn, Marques, Matthews, McKee and Richardson for the Republican nomination on Tuesday. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polling locations can be found here. The winner will face the Figures in the general election.