A former state senator and a local businessman are running for Alabama Senate District 34 after State Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) announced his campaign for Agriculture Commissioner.
Former State Sen. Rusty Glover (R-Semmes) is running against Doug Harwell in the Republican nomination.
Glover was born and raised in Mobile. He taught U.S. history at Mary G. Montgomery High School, served as a state representative for four years and as a state senator from 2006 to 2018. During his time as a senator, he was appointed Senate Majority Whip.
The Alabama Republican Assembly and ALFA have endorsed Glover in the race.
Glover is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and his priorities are education, safe communities and small business. He said he will always stand against raising taxes and will stand for immigration enforcement.
As a child, Glover said he never thought he would be interested in politics until the 1994 watershed "Newt Gingrich Revolution" when Republicans took control of both the House and Senate. After being out of politics for eight years, he said he misses working for the people.
"Constituent service is so important for those hardworking, tax-paying citizens that get caught up in the bureaucracy and need help," Glover said. "And I really enjoyed being a part of helping find solutions for them. And also, I want to bring my basic conservative values to that office and work towards less government."
Glover has an associate's degree from Faulkner State and two master's degrees from the University of South Alabama, one in education and the other in history. Glover said his education and experience as a lawmaker make him the perfect candidate for the Republican nomination.
"There's a lot of lessons in American history that I taught that I keep in mind, and a lot of my heroes in American history are those who were for less government, those who were not the mainstream establishment candidates and office holders, but those who were out there for the right reasons," Glover said.
While the former educator is pro-school choice, he said he was disappointed when many families were left out of the first round of the school choice bill because both parents worked and made money.
"I'm very disappointed that they were left out in the first round of the choice bill," Glover said. "And these are parents whose mama and dad have worked, both of them have to work to pay the taxes and tuition, and yet other kids are the ones that are getting the tax breaks or vouchers. I think saying that some kids' families are rich just because they make the limit is ridiculous. I think it's just a shame that so many families that work hard to pay their taxes, to pay the tuition, got left out of that."
When it comes to economic development, Glover said he wants to see funding for vocational and trade schools to prepare students for the area's industry leaders, such as Airbus and Austal.
As a Republican, Glover said he has a record of voting for conservative values.
"There's anywhere from 1,100 to 1,400 bills that are introduced, and we have to make sure that we carefully look over those bills to make sure that priorities of freedoms are protected, and I plan on voting conservatively as I did in the past," Glover added.
If elected, Glover is looking for ways to help veterans. He said he would stay honest and never take money from nefarious special interests.
"I'm just looking forward to being part of solutions and working hard for the people," Glover said. "I was voted the hardest working legislator in the Mobile/Baldwin County area three years in a row, and I have no intentions of slowing down once I get up there. I want to work for the people and protect the trust that they have in me, knowing that I'm honest and will be working on their behalf, not on behalf of the Montgomery establishment."
While his opponent has experience on the local school board, Glover emphasized he has experience in schools and in Montgomery.
"I think that the valuable experience that I had with the legislative process, working with people," Glover explained. That is very important when you have people from cross sections of the state, and you develop relationships with them, and they can help you on your bills – and especially those more conservative members who are in North Alabama – I can work with them, they can work with me. And like I said, I have a relationship with them."
Glover and his wife, Connie, have been married for 35 years and have two daughters and three grandchildren. They live in Semmes and are members of Wilmer Baptist Church.
The primary election is May 19.
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