By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, the Executive Committee of The Libertarian Party of Alabama selected Ron Bishop of Irondale, Alabama, to represent the party as a write-in candidate for the upcoming special election for the U.S. Senate.
Bishop formally announced his candidacy at the Whistle Stop Festival on Saturday, September 30 in Irondale.
“Alabama has the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation. The Democrats and Republicans are attempting to keep the Libertarians off of the ballot, but the voters of Alabama can write us back on it by writing in Ron Bishop for the U.S. Senate,” said Josh Tuttle, LPA chairman.
Bishop is a native of Eufaula, Alabama, and is an I.T. professional in the Birmingham area.
“I believe in free markets and free minds,” Bishop said in a statement. “The Democrats have become nothing but warmed-over socialists while the Republicans have completely lost their minds. The Libertarians have remained true to the core American values of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. If we are ever going to see true equality, we the people, need to stop relying on the established parties to solve our problems.”
The LPA said in their press release that the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States. “Libertarians believe the answer to America’s political problems is the same commitment to freedom that earned America its greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America’s founders.”
Bishop was born in Gadsden, Alabama, and grew up in Eufaula, Alabama. In 1983 he moved to Birmingham, where he graduated from Huffman High School in 1985. He studied nursing and radiography at Jefferson State Community College and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but since the1990s he has been a self-taught IT professional.
Bishop lives in Irondale, Alabama. He is married and has two children, a son and a daughter. His son is in the Air Force and his daughter is in High School.
Bishop developed his interest in politics as a senior in high school, watching Birmingham City Council meetings. Bishop says that today’s Libertarian Party is best aligned with his belief in limited government and individual freedom. He has been active in the Libertarian Party for many years.
“I am running for the U.S. Senate because I feel we are getting short-changed by the two candidates on the ballot. Neither will represent Alabama,” Bishop said. “They have too much baggage, owe too many special interest groups, and fundamentally do not represent the values of the people of Alabama. I was born and raised in Alabama and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I haven’t lived a life in politics nor in the public eye. Maybe that’s the type of person Alabamians would like to send to Washington.”
Bishop won’t actually be on the ballot. Voters have to write in his name on the ballot.
The special election between Judge Roy Moore and Doug Jones is on Dec. 12.
