Photo by Jon Anderson.
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-District 6, left, and challenger Gerrick Wilkins of Vestavia Hills listen to challenger Ken McFeeters of north Shelby County talk during a Mid-Alabama Republican Club forum for Congressional District 6 at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest on Jan. 13.
The Republican race for Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District has shaped up to be a battle about term limits and who can better advance a conservative agenda.
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, a Hoover resident who is nearing the end of his fifth two-year term in Congress, broke an earlier promise not to seek more than 10 years in office and decided to run again.
His two challengers in the March 5 Republican primary, Gerrick Wilkins of Vestavia Hills and Ken McFeeters of the Indian Lake subdivision in north Shelby County, have criticized that decision. Wilkins said Palmer has done more talk than action and made poor decisions that do not adequately represent conservative Alabama values.
Palmer said he makes his decisions based on the right thing to do and doesn’t check to see how groups score politicians before he votes, but he said he has maintained a 95% rating from the American Conservative Union.
Palmer said he struggled greatly with the decision to run for a sixth term, but many people he admires encouraged him to do so, and he prayed about it and felt God leading him in that direction.
He said the country has been headed in the wrong direction under President Biden’s administration, and if Donald Trump is elected as the next president, “we’ve got a chance to really fix some things.”
Palmer said there has been a huge turnover among Republicans in Congress in recent years, and “we’re hemorrhaging in experience and institutional knowledge.”
As chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a former member of the House Budget Committee, he believes his experience and background in policy matters, the budget and Congressional procedure will be needed.
It’s easy for his opponents to criticize his votes on certain things, but “they don’t know how things work,” Palmer said. “It takes a while to even learn how the process works. We’re having a hard time passing anything right now.”
Ukraine war
Wilkins and McFeeters have criticized Palmer for advocating for spending billions of dollars to aid Ukraine in its war with Russia while the United States faces an “invasion” at its southern border.
“We need a representative to say, ‘No more — no more prioritizing foreign security over American security,’” Wilkins said. “There is a crisis at the southern border, and it has been neglected by this inept administration and allowed to flourish under apathetic Congressional leadership and oversight.”
Wilkins said Palmer seems “mired in the ways of the D.C. swamp.”
“He has been complacent with theorizing about policy and occasionally voting the right way,” Wilkins said. “Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District deserves more. We deserve a tireless advocate — a representative who goes beyond mere words, embodied with action and initiative. … It’s high time we elect a representative who prioritizes action and Alabama values over passive committee attendance and idle policy discussions.”
McFeeters said the U.S. government’s support of the war in Ukraine has baffled him.
“There’s absolutely no reason we should be in Ukraine,” he said. “Ukraine gives us no strategic military or financial advantage. We have no economic ties with Ukraine.”
Palmer said he voted against more recent bills to provide financial support to Ukraine.
Wilkins also faulted Palmer for voting to kill the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act in 2018.
Palmer said he voted against that act because it was a bad bill that would have increased the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country and given amnesty to too many already here.
Palmer
Palmer said the two most important issues to him right now are border security and the cost of living.
Nearly 7 million people have entered the country illegally since Biden came into office, and there have been 345 U.S. Border Patrol encounters with known or suspected terrorists or potential threats between U.S. ports of entry since that time, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s a threat to national security when you don’t know who is crossing the borders, Palmer said.
Trump’s “return to Mexico” policy needs to be reinstated as a law, as well as a requirement that people not be allowed in the country until it is verified they are not carrying viruses, Palmer said.
Pressure must be put on Mexico through trade agreements, and the United States must build a wall on its southern border and pay for better surveillance technology, including technology that better detects fentanyl, he said.
The government also has to get control of inflation, Palmer said. Under the Biden administration, inflation soared over 9%, and the cumulative impact of inflation was as high as 17%, based on the Consumer Price Index, he said. A family with a median household income had $12,000 less buying power because of the high inflation, and 64% of the increase in fuel costs in the last two years was due to higher energy costs, Palmer said.
Wilkins
Wilkins said government cannot overlook the pressing moral issues of the day.
“Our society faces an urgent call to safeguard the unborn, to counter child exploitation and eradicate the scourge of human trafficking that is pervading our country,” Wilkins said. “My commitment to the intrinsic value of everyone from conception to natural end remains steadfast and unwavering. I pledge to spearhead policies that nurture and protect life and confront the menace of human trafficking at its roots.”
Wilkins also said he will fight for fiscal responsibility in Congress, support a balanced budget amendment and push for significant cuts to the federal bureaucracy. The current national debt is $34.2 trillion, up from $31.7 trillion in 2020, according to the U.S. Treasury.
“At this point, if we don’t make some serious cuts to federal spending, then we’re not going to enjoy the same prosperous country that allowed me to be successful and that’s allowed so many to achieve the American dream. Interest payments on that debt alone will be the single largest budget item within just a few short years, and that’s a problem,” Wilkins said.
McFeeters
McFeeters said he was drawn into this race because of the crazy government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war and the false narratives being spun related to the Jan. 6, 2021, protests in Washington, D.C., in which Trump supporters forced their way into the U.S. Capitol to contest certification of his defeat in the 2020 election.
McFeeters said he opposes the Federal Reserve banking system that was created by Congress in 1913 and doesn’t believe the U.S. government should owe money to a private entity like that. The U.S. government owed $5.4 trillion to the Federal Reserve as of the end of the third quarter of 2023, according to the Fed. McFeeters said it would be better to use that money to replenish the Social Security fund.
He believes power players are at work behind the scenes to create crises, such as wars and the border crisis in an effort to create debt for the government and general population. Government giveaway programs also are designed to add to this debt, he said.
McFeeters also wants to do away with required mRNA vaccinations for infants and children, saying medical decisions should be left up to individuals.
All three candidates said they support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.
The Sixth Congressional District includes the northeastern part of Jefferson County, a small part of Talladega County, as well as Shelby, Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Autauga and Elmore counties. It includes Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Trussville, Clay and parts of Hoover and Homewood.
The winner of the March 5 Republican primary will face Democrat Elizabeth Anderson in the Nov. 5 general election.
Ken McFeeters
Photo courtesy of Ken McFeeters.
Ken McFeeters, Republican candidate for Alabama's Sixth Congressional District
Party: Republican
Age: 63
Residence: Indian Lake in north Shelby County
Political experience: Unsuccessful bid to replace David Wheeler in Alabama House District 47 in 2022; former president of Mid-Alabama Republican Club
Professional experience: Has owned and run PAC Insurance Agency for 42 years (offices in Hoover, Bessemer and Roebuck)
Civic experience: Legislative chairman for Alabama Independent Insurance Agents for 10 of last 20 years
Education: Berry High School graduate, 1979
Main issues: Redirect payments going to Federal Reserve to replenish Social Security; abolish the U.S. Department of Education; eliminate mRNA shots for infants and children; defund and withdraw from the United Nations and World Health Organization; change leadership in federal agencies; end U.S. involvement in Russia-Ukraine war
Website/social media: Ken4America.com; X: @Ken35216; Facebook: Ken Abe McFeeters
Gary Palmer (incumbent)
Photo courtesy of Gary Palmer.
Gary Palmer, Republican candidate for Alabama's Sixth Congressional District
Party: Republican
Age: 69
Residence: Hoover
Political experience: Elected to U.S. Congress in 2014 representing Alabama’s 6th District; now in his fifth two-year term
Professional experience: President of the Alabama Policy Institute for 24 years; worked in engineering, as well as with Focus on the Family; chairman of the Republican Policy Committee; serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee; previously served on the House Budget and Oversight Committees
Civic experience: Rotary Club of Birmingham; member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church
Education: Bachelor’s degree in operations management from University of Alabama in 1977
Main issues: Better secure the U.S. border with Mexico; get control of inflation; open access to energy resources such as natural gas, critical minerals and Canadian oil
Website/social media: palmerforalabama.com; X: @Palmer4Alabama; Facebook: Gary Palmer for Alabama
Gerrick Wilkins
Photo courtesy of Gerrick Wilkins.
Gerrick Wilkins, Republican candidate for Alabama's Sixth Congressional District
Party: Republican
Age: 46
Residence: Vestavia Hills
Political experience: First run for public office
Professional experience: Has worked in automotive industry more than 24 years; now is broker in sale of dealerships for Dealer Support Network
Civic experience: Advisory board for Samford University Brock School of Business; on board for Mission Increase Alabama, which provides free counseling to nonprofits on a Biblical approach to fundraising; member of The Gideons International
Education: Master’s degree in business administration from Samford University in 2016; bachelor’s degree in religion from Liberty University
Main issues: Conservative representation; secure U.S. borders; safeguard the unborn; counter child exploitation and human trafficking; be fiscally responsible in Congress; balance the budget; support term limits; dismantle the U.S. Department of Education
Website/social media: WilkinsforAL.com; X: @WilkinsforAL; Facebook: Gerrick Wilkins for Congress
