Democratic congressional candidates held a press conference Wednesday saying they feel confident in their prospects in the fall, despite running in districts that have tended to favor Republicans.
Speaking at the Alabama Democratic Party’s headquarters in Montgomery, the candidates — including Clyde Jones for the 1st Congressional District in south Alabama; Lee McInnis for the 3rd Congressional District in east Alabama; Amanda Puszcek for the 4th Congressional District running across north-central Alabama; Andrew Sneed in the 5th Congressional District in north Alabama; Keith Pilkington in the 6th Congressional District in central Alabama and U.S. Senate candidates Dakari Larriett and Mark Wheeler — said they would run on improving health care and what they called failures by Republican leaders in Washington.
“What we’re seeing is our Republican representatives in Washington are voting against the interest of their constituents, and their constituents are beginning to figure that out,” McInnis said. “So we are seeing a groundswell of discussion at this point that we’re all certain is going to turn into votes in November that will put Democrats in office where they haven’t been in a good long while.”
Democrats currently hold two of the state’s seven U.S. House seats: The 2nd district, represented by U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, and the 7th district, represented by U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham. But outside those districts, Democratic congressional candidates have struggled.
Doug Jones, who represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate from 2017 to 2021 and now running for governor, is the only Alabama Democrat to serve in the Senate since 1994.
The challenges for the candidates will be substantial, as many will be running against incumbent Republicans likely to have cash advantages in the general election. But those who attended the Wednesday event expressed hope for their prospects this year, the first since 2018 in which a Democrat will run in each seat.
McInnis, who would face U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks if nominated, said he’s running to help his district obtain better access to health care services including access to trauma centers, mental health services and pediatricians.
“I began to see and realize that the 3rd Congressional District was not being appropriately represented in the US House representatives. We’re a rural district, so we face all the problems other rural counties face,” McInnis said.
Rural areas across Alabama have seen nine hospitals close with the most recent one happening last May.
Pusczek, a nurse, would face U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville if nominated. She said she’s running to improve health care as well.
“There’s not a district in the state that is not devastated or been touched between the cuts and the rural hospitals are getting closed. Medicaid, ACA, we’re all affected,” she said.
Sneed, who would face U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Madison if nominated, said his work in business led him to run for the U.S. House.
“I worry about my guys. I worry about our company,” he said. “Everything costs too much. Everything’s getting a little too hard. We pay for their sick leave, and we pay for their paternity leave, and I pay for all their insurance, because nobody should be afraid to get hurt or be sick. I’ve lived that. But it’s not enough, and things are too hard.”
Larriett, running for Senate, said current leadership in the chamber isn’t adequate for Alabama.
“We deserve better leaders, leaders who know what the issues are and actually want to fix them,” Larriett said. “We deserve leaders that respect our First Amendment right and our way of worshiping. We deserve leaders that know the three branches of government and actually live in our state.”
Wheeler, also running for Senate, said after talking to Republican voters, many of them said they would vote for a Democrat.
“I can’t tell you how many Republicans stop and they want a deep, meaningful conversation, and they are so remarkably surprised that a Democrat is willing to stop, sit down, do something to draw them in,” he said. “And once you start having that meaningful connection, I would say one in 10 walk away saying they still couldn’t vote Democrat. The other nine 90% of those Republicans that walk up to me walk away saying, I believe in you. I can vote for you.”
Larriett said he’s focusing on engaging voter turnout in the state by meeting voters in areas they may frequent including churches.
Alabama’s voter turnout rate during the 2024 Presidential Election was the lowest in 30 years sitting at 58.5% of registered voters submitting ballots. The state has some of the lowest voter participation in the nation, due to a lack of early voting options and lack of competitive races.
Tabitha Isner, vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, said the organization is working to ensure voters understand the importance of voting in every election.
“I think it has never been more clear that having a balance in government is important, and people are seeing that at the federal level more clearly than ever, that when one party controls everything, things can get out of hand fast, especially if there are no if we’re not putting the brakes on ourselves,” she said. “We have to be working together and balancing one another out if we’re going to have a government that actually serves the people who have a variety of different interests, but we are dedicated and passionate and motivated and prepared to get folks out to the polls in November. ”