Rodney Walker, a Lineville businessman and cattle farmer, announced his campaign for U.S. Senate last week.
Walker is the owner of Patriot Fuels USA, Walker Lands and Cattle, and Patriot Fueling Centers. A Senate seat in Alabama is open in 2026 due to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) running for governor instead of re-election.
"I want to do something to help the people of Alabama. I want to help my community and I want to help the people of the state. It's always been something that I've had in my gut that I would really like to do. So the opportunity presented itself, and we prayed about it and thought about it for about three months, and then my wife stayed on me, and we committed to do it and went full-fledged," Walker told 1819 News in a recent interview. "I feel like the voters are tired of career politicians. President Trump was not a politician. He's a businessman. Just look at all the things that he's accomplished. He came in like a businessman and went to work cleaning up excess spending and getting everything done that we need to get done in America. He had a list, and he was prepared, and he didn't let the bureaucratic regime slow him down. I think that's what's important. People are just tired of the same old bureaucratic regime that we have and the good old boy system in Washington D.C. that just never seems to ever get anything done."
Walker will join U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Jared Hudson in a crowded Republican primary. Walker previously lost in a 2010 Democratic primary against long-time incumbent former State Rep. Richard Laird.
"I called it in 2008 because I came out campaigning very early. The seat was held by Richard Laird, and he had been there for 32 years. I really wanted to make some changes. That area at the time, it was one of the largest state representative areas. It went all the way from Centre, Alabama, all the way down into Chambers County. I worked very hard campaigning," Walker said. "I had always been Republican. If you want to check my voting record, you could. The thing is, all of my friends at the courthouse, the sheriff, the judge, all of the people in Randolph and Clay County had just grown up as being Democrats. It was a different Democratic system than it is today. It was what I'll just call a local Democrat because that's the way grandfather voted but nobody ever voted Democrat for president or (U.S.) representative or (U.S.) senator or anything like that. The only way to beat Richard was in his own house of cards, and before that, I'd flown a helicopter for Bob Riley. I worked hard on their campaign. I was noted as being a Republican in a Democratic house. Kind of like a wolf in sheep's clothing, I guess, and I got a really hard time for it. Sometimes I just feel like that's maybe the way that you had to go to battle, but you can check my voting record after that and you'll see that every Republican primary I voted in. I also want to say that that's an issue that's kind of coming out now. Steve Marshall was a Democrat at one time, and then Jared Hudson was. Gerald Dial that lives right down the road was a Democrat. Richard Laird was a Democrat. Everybody was a Democrat. It's not like I was the only person that ever ran on that ticket. My voting record before and after shows that I'm a Republican and I'm not just running as a Republican to ride that bandwagon. I believe my record speaks for itself on that. Right after that, Obama was the president and everybody that was in those local parties all switched over. I guess they call it the GOP transition."
Walker has started a wide variety of businesses, including a school and office supplies store, construction, a rock quarry, a real estate leasing company, fueling centers and a wholesale fuel supply business.
Walker said he's created 1,000 jobs for Alabamians through his companies.
He said, "Good, hardworking Americans are being left behind because the career politicians have prioritized global corporations and special interests that are exploiting the very country our people built."
"I do feel like that I bring to the table a lot of business experience. I know how to work with people of all levels: white collar, blue collar, even down to kids. I don't think that maybe the politicians that we have now maybe have that ability. I think that's something big that I bring to the table. I'd just like to be noted as not being a career politician and being a common-sense businessman that really cares about his community," Walker added.
UPDATE: After publication, a spokesperson for the Hudson campaign told 1819 News that Hudson has never been a Democrat.
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