Can a Democrat unseat U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Monrovia, in November’s general election in a district that has been solidly Republican since Mo Brooks was elected in 2010?

One of the Democrats vying to be the two-term Republican’s challenger in the Fifth Congressional District believes he can.

“When Peter Joffrion ran against Mo in 2018, he only lost by 10 ½ points,” small business owner Andrew Sneed said. “And I think Peter’s great. But I’ve worked with my hands for 25 years. I hope that I bring something different to the dynamic, me being a plumber and a mechanical contractor and growing up around a farm and being able to reach folks that might not have been reachable for a city attorney.”

Sneed is one of three Democrats vying for their party nomination in the May 19 primary. Strong is unopposed in his bid for reelection on the Republican side.

According to Federal Election Commission reports, Sneed is the top fundraiser among the three Democrats in the race, having raised almost $350,000 in individual donations and having more than $200,0000 cash on hand at the start of 2026. Strong had a sizeable cash advantage with more than $1 million cash on hand.

But Sneed outraised Strong in the last quarter of 2025, adding fuel to his belief he can defeat Strong.

“We’re seeing swings of 17 and 20 (percentage) points around the country,” he said. “And if Peter lost by 10 ½ points in a mid-term, I think we have a chance.”

Sneed concedes, however, that the Democrats haven’t had a competitive candidate in the district “for a while.”

“The math says R-15 (percentage points),” he said. “I think really, we’re probably more like R-10 or R-12. We’re seeing that being overcome all over the country right now. I care deeply about the district. And I think that if we run the right campaign that we’re trying to run, we have the right resources and awareness, that we’re going to win the seat.”

The issues

Sneed believes that policies put in place by President Donald Trump’s administration and actions by the Republican-controlled Congress could shift the race in favor of the Democrats.

“Certainly, as a small business owner, 100% we feel the effects of these tariffs,” he said. “We’re certainly getting crushed every time we go to the store and as we run our business. You look at 130,000 Alabamians losing health insurance because of the policies.”

Sneed said his campaign started with a slogan “Hear Every Voice.”

“I think that’s what we don’t have right now,” he said.

Sneed said his campaign message has now evolved into “Fix the House.”

“I have started a national coalition of candidates called BAC, which stands for Balance as in balance of power, A for accountability to the people candidates,” he said. “It’s now 52 candidates in 32 states running on this five-point pledge for critical government reform. We’re getting national press over that. We believe it’s going to be a national movement. It started right here in the Fifth Congressional District.”

Sneed is a Huntsville native, a graduate of Lee High School. He is a Boston University graduate and spent seven years in New York City, returning south in 2010. He was involved in the restaurant business.

After meeting his wife, Sneed started over at 32 years old, as a $10 an hour plumber’s helper, working his way up in the trades over the following seven years. He started his company, Whole Home Solutions, in 2019.

Educator Candice Duvieilh and U.S. Army veteran Jeremy Devito are the two other Democratic candidates.