FOLEY — A 22-year-old Baldwin County native wants to become the youngest lawmaker in Alabama. Elijah Davidson, of Elberta, has taken an aggressive approach to the campaign trail, saying he is tired of all talk and no action.
“Everything that motivates me about being in politics is the fact that in America and in Alabama, and even down at the local level, in some cases, politicians don't really listen,” Davidson said.
Davidson will face State Rep. Frances Holk-Jones (R-Foley), who has held the seat since 2022, and challenger Joe Freeman.
Politics became an interest for Davidson at a young age. He said watching his family struggle through the Obama presidency was difficult, but over the years, he has been able to identify issues with housing costs, groceries, education and health care. He became involved with Turning Point USA as a chapter president at Gulf Shores High School. He takes credit for growing the chapter into the largest chapter in the nation.
After attending the University of South Alabama and majoring in political science, Davidson said he wanted to go to law school. However, that changed after he worked for an attorney.
“I like arguing, so I wanted to go and argue for a living, but I started working at a law firm in Mobile, and it was probably the most boring job I'd ever had,” Davidson remembered. “I was like, ‘This is not something that I want to do.”
Davidson earned his degree, and now he says his full-time job is campaigning. He spends six days a week door-knocking. While the experience has been mostly positive, he said he has received some threats, but he is always packing.
"I don't really care," Davidson said. "Like, I tell people I carry a nine millimeter with me everywhere I go. Like, I'm kickboxing twice a week. I know how to defend myself. So. I'm not super concerned about it, but it is indicative of what I'm running against, which is why I'm sick of this good old boy's style of politics."
Davidson has spoken at Republican-sponsored events.
While he is young, he said he believes he has what it takes to do what’s best for the people of District 95, which includes Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Elberta and Perdido Beach, as well as unincorporated Bon Secour, Miflin, Fort Morgan, Josephine and Ono Island.
As for policy, Davidson said he believes Alabama should eliminate all of the state’s grocery tax. He said he has a plan to make up for the 2% grocery tax, and that is either funding it through $250 million of the Education Trust Fund’s billion-dollar-plus surplus or cutting the state’s workforce. Davidson said he would like to see lawmakers taking on real issues instead of taking actions like renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."
“We can call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America all day long. I think it's funny. I do it all the time to tick off my liberal family members, and it drives them nuts,” he said. “I think it's funny, but this is a clear example of misguided priorities. There are much more important things to use limited and valuable legislative time on than changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which frankly, not a lot of people across the rest of the world are going to recognize.”
Davidson acknowledged he is young and hasn’t experienced everything in life, but he said he has experienced enough.
“Now, if you think that a politician should have experience running an insurance firm or being a financial advisor, then yes, I'm not your candidate,” Davidson said. “I don't have business experience, but I'll tell you the experience that I do have. I know what it's like to go into the grocery store and have a pit in your stomach because you're worried about affording what you need for the week. I know what it's like to be a young person struggling to afford a home. If I'm elected, I think I'll be the only person in the state legislature that has been a public school student in the last 20 years. I think the next youngest guy is 26. I'll be one of two. I have experienced, again, as an Alabama taxpayer, as a public school student, as a young, hopefully first-time home buyer. I haven't bought my first home yet, but I'm trying. As just a normal Alabamian who works normal jobs and was still having to make ends meet with a credit card because the paycheck didn't go as far as it should have, I'm experiencing the problems that the state legislature is responsible for solving.”
The Republican primary is on May 19.
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