On Thursday, most of the seven Republican candidates for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District addressed voters at a forum at the Alabama Cattlemen's Association building in Montgomery.

Former state Sen. Dick Brewbaker (R-Montgomery) said he has been married to his wife Ruth for 35 years. they have five children.

“I served three terms in the Alabama Legislature,” said Sen. Brubaker. “When I ran for the Senate, I promised I would only serve two terms.”

“I had so much fun being a state senator that I hated leaving, but I was committed,” Brewbaker said. “I have five grandchildren now. It changes your perspective. For the first time in my life, I thought there might come a day when my children would not live to live in a free country. .”

Brewbaker said he is against “wake culture and everything that goes with it.”

Brewbaker criticized President Joseph Biden's border policies.

“400,000 illegal aliens cross our southern border into the country every month,” Brubaker said. “150 Americans die every day from fentanyl poisoning brought across the border.”

“We don't need to pass new laws,” Brewbaker said. “The president has all the authority necessary to close the border.”

Brewbaker said the best job he did in the Alabama Legislature was “trying to keep government small.”

Brewbaker recalled that when he was a senator and Alabama State Schools Superintendent, “Tommy Bice was going to abolish home education,” and had no regulatory authority over private school governance until Brewbaker and the Legislature responded. was claiming.

“Alabama currently has the strongest protections in the country for homeschoolers, and the Department of Education has no authority over private schools,” Brewbaker said.

Brewbaker remains opposed to Medicaid expansion because more doctors won't accept new Medicaid patients, many employers will drop health insurance coverage, and workers will lose the ability to choose their doctors. He said that

Brewbaker, who until December owned a car dealership in the Montgomery area, criticized the Affordable Care Act.

“After Obamacare passed, my employee insurance deductible went from $3,000 to $10,000. To lower my deductible to $4,000, I had to invest $300,000 in my company, which It was for 99 employees.”99

Caroleen Dobson is a real estate attorney.

“I am first and foremost a Christian wife, mother and lawyer,” Dobson said. “The future of our country is at stake.”

Dobson warned of drugs, terrorism and crime coming into the country through Biden's southern border policies.

“The huge number of non-taxpayers who depend on our social services will destroy our country,” Dobson warned.

Dobson also said that Biden's “weak leadership” has emboldened Iran, Russia and China so much that “the map looks like it was right before World War II, and despite the war, we are We have almost the same military strength as we had back then.” The country's population has more than doubled. ”

Dobson blamed Biden's policies for making it difficult to recruit soldiers to the military.

“Stop treats our fighting men and women like guinea pigs in an unfettered social experiment,” Dobson said.

“Christianity is under attack,” Dobson said. “I will fight against liberal brainwashing.”

Mr. Dobson promised that schools would once again teach that “America is the greatest force for good in the world.”

Mr. Dobson warned about inflation.

“The average family of four saw an increase of $950 in basic living expenses alone,” Dobson said.

Dobson said the United States should work toward energy independence and that Biden's recent decisions on liquefied natural gas were “more about supporting fringe elements in his own party than about doing what's right for the country.” “It shows that we care about that.”

“I grew up on a farm and learned at an early age that everything we have comes from God,” Dobson said. “I have the support of the Alabama Farmers Federation because they know I have what it takes to fight the liberal agenda in Washington, D.C.”

State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) compared and contrasted Washington's fiscal recklessness with the fiscal restraint he and his fellow legislators showed in Alabama.

“The country is spending more and more money every day by printing money,” said Senator Albritton. “Currently, (the national debt) has surpassed the $34 trillion mark and is rapidly approaching $35 trillion.”

Albritton, chairman of the Senate committee that reviews the state's general fund budget (SGF), said that in the same economic situation, Alabama “ended up with a surplus of $300 million to $400 million” this fiscal year. ” he said.

“We passed additional legislation to repay the ATF (Alabama Trust Fund),” Albritton said. “There hasn't been a pro rata budget since 2011. The last budget the Democrats prepared was in 2011,” said one state official.

The state had to borrow money to pay back the Alabama Trust Fund.

“We borrowed nearly $400 million in three of the four years,” Albritton said. “We were paying off $13 million a year, which took time. Last February we received the money in extra spending and paid it back. We paid off part of the bond. So what I'm saying is they (the federal government) are going in the wrong direction.”

“Debbie and I have been married for 50 years and have six children,” Albritton said. “I served in the Navy.”

Following the Navy, Albritton attended law school. Albritton needed to defeat Democrats to win the Senate seat, and he said CD2 could replicate that accomplishment.

“I can win this race,” Albritton said. “Democrats can win this seat.”

“Counties that were all Democratic when I ran are now all Republican,” Albritton said. “We need to take this seat, I can

Hampton Harris is only 27 years old, but he graduated from law school and runs a real estate business in the Montgomery area.

“I'm the most conservative candidate in this district,” Harris said. “I grew up in Montgomery and my mother homeschooled me and my six children. I attended Auburn University in Montgomery. I worked at a hospital. I graduated from the most conservative law school in the state. I worked hard and got my hands dirty to get here.”

Harris said he and his wife, Abby, volunteer to help veterans get the VA benefits they deserve.

Harris said Montgomery is home to Maxwell Air Force Base and the Air National Guard Combat Team, creating 12,000 jobs in the area.

Harris accused the U.S. military of being taught liberal ideology and blamed woke ideology training and vaccination requirements for the shortage of recruits.

Harris also criticized Biden's border policies.

“We need to close the border, build a border wall and reinstate Remain in Mexico,” Harris said. “Illegal immigration costs the average family an extra $1,100 a year.”

“As a small business owner, I have seen the taxes and bureaucracy imposed on businesses by the government,” Harris continued. “We need to ease regulations on businesses.”

“I'm a first-rate Christian and a strong Republican,” Harris said. “I voted for Trump in every election.”

City Council Member Belinda Thomas Belinda Thomas is a farmer, founder of Joyful Farms, a nonprofit organization that mentors new farmers, and owner of Alabama Boo, Inc., which promotes bamboo cultivation. She was elected to the Newton City Council in 2020.

Thomas said she ran for Newton City Council to get sidewalks installed in town and was elected.

“I decided to run for City Council,” Newton said. “Not a single African American supported me (Thomas was black). Not a single African American came and said we support you. We said we support you. is white.”

“We would like to thank the Alabama Cattlemen's Association for letting us use their space. We would like to thank all the volunteers,” said Montgomery Young Republicans Vice Chairman Caleb Connors.

“Montgomery County is ready to accept whoever the candidate is,” Connors said. “We have a lot of hardworking workers who believe in the Republican cause.”

“We are being asked to become some kind of new socialist country,” said John Wall, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.

“We are at ground zero in this country's fight,” Wahl said. “It's going to be tough. This district was designed by the federal courts as a Democratic district.”

Wahl said the district is nevertheless a potential win for Republicans.

Stacey T. Shepperson and Carla M. DuPriest are also running for CD2 as Republicans. Wallace Gilberry qualified. But he officially withdrew from the race. There are 13 Democratic candidates running for CD2 in the Democratic primary.

The primaries for both major political parties will be held on March 5th.

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