Staff Report
MONTGOMERY–Bradley Byrne is expected to announce on Tuesday that he will join Dean Young, Quin Hillyer, Jessica James and Representative Randy Davis to seek the Republican nomination for the Congressional seat being vacated by Representative Jo Bonner.
Byrne, who ran in the Republican primary for Governor in 2009, announced today that he will make an important announcement about his political future on Tuesday at 2:00.
The media conference will be held in the same place where Byrne kicked off his 2010 Gubernatorial race: the Five Rivers facility on the Mobile Causeway.
Prior to his run for Governor, Byrne served as chancellor of the two-year college system in Alabama. He got his political start as a Democrat, when he was elected to the State Board of Education in 1994.
In 1997, Byrne left the Democratic Party and ran as a Republican for the state Senate in 2002, a seat he won with 91 percent of the vote.
Dean Young, another candidate for the Congressional seat, is no stranger to this race. He ran against Bonner in 2009 for the Republican nomination for this seat. He came in second to Bonner, with 24 percent of the vote to Bonner’s 56 percent.
“This is a position I have sought and believe I can win,” Young said.
Young is currently an entrepreneur and business leader in Orange Beach. He previously served as an aide to Chief Justice Roy Moore.
Quin Hillyer, another candidate in the AL-01 race, kicked off his campaign last week with a media call featuring former Senator and Republican Presidential nominee Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania).
Hillyer is a conservative blogger and columnist who is employed by the Center for Individual Freedom and The American Spectator.
Hillyer previously worked for Representative Robert Livingston (R-Louisiana) before returning to Alabama to work at the Mobile Press Register.
Jessica James is the only female candidate, so far. Her Twitter page lists her as the founder of Politika, Incorporated, however that organization’s domain name has expired so more information was not able to be found about it’s mission or purpose.
Politika, Inc.’s Twitter description does offer some insight, saying, they are “working to elect qualified, conservative candidates to public office.”
James is also a licensed Realtor with Roberts Brothers, Inc.
Lastly, Representative Randy Davis also intends to compete for the seat. Davis currently represents Alabama’s 96th House district, which covers parts of Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
Davis was elected to the Alabama House in 2002. He currently chairs the House Constitution, Elections and Fair Campaign Practice Committee.
The Governor still has not given any information on a time table for the special election. The winner will compete for reelection in 2014.
