By Brandon Moseley
Former State Sen. Paul Sanford (R-Huntsville) was in his home community on Monday to ask the Republican Executive Committee of Madison County for votes for his congressional campaign.
“I was your state senator from 2009 to 2018,” Sanford told the estimated crowd of 90 GOP activists.
Sanford is pursuing the Republican nomination for Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) is running for U.S. Senate, thus is not seeking re-election.
“I am very concerned about the future of this country,” Sanford said. “This has forced me to throw my name in the hat."
Sanford pointed to his conservative record in the Alabama Senate.
“We need that same sort of exposure at the federal level,” Sanford added. “We need someone with the backbone to stand in the gap like Mo Brooks has done.”
Recently, the Alabama legislature held a second special session. During that special session on redistricting, legislators passed two bills dealing with vaccine mandates. One of those set state standards for granting medical and religious exemptions to vaccine mandates.
“I want to thank the guys in the legislature for the exemption bill,” Sanford said. “The American government should never put a citizen in a situation where they have to get a vaccine ordered by someone else. That is un-American and that is one of the main reasons I am in this race. I have a lot of friends and neighbors who have businesses and livelihoods on the line during the pandemic and the economic shutdown.”
Sanford said that he had proven conservative credentials during his tenure in Montgomery.
“I am willing to do exactly the same thing in Washington DC,” Sanford concluded.
Sanford is a Huntsville native. He has a degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America and owned Little Paul's Barbecue, in Huntsville.
He said he ran for the State Senate after becoming frustrated with the red tape and oversight from the government while owning the restaurant.
The Republican primary is May 24, 2022.
