Gary Palmer (politician)
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Gary James Palmer (born May 14, 1954) is an American politician serving as the
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for since 2015. His district includes the wealthier parts of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, as well as most of its suburbs. Before becoming an elected official, Palmer co-founded and served as the longtime president of the
Alabama Policy Institute The Alabama Policy Institute (API) is a nonprofit, conservative think tank located in Alabama. According to the organization's mission statement, it is "dedicated to influencing public policy in the interest of the preservation of free markets, li ...
, a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
think tank. A member of the House
Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and farth ...
, Palmer has chaired the Republican Policy Committee since 2019.


Early life, education, and career

Palmer was born in
Hackleburg, Alabama Hackleburg is a town in Marion County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated on August 23, 1909.Christopher Maloney,Hackleburg" ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', 16 July 2018. At the 2020 census, its population was 1,425, down from 1,516 at the 2010 ...
. His family lived on a 40-acre farm, where Palmer helped maintain the family garden and animals. Palmer has a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in operations management from the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
. He was the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He was a walk-on wide receiver for the Crimson Tide and played under
Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
. In 1989, Palmer co-founded the Alabama Family Alliance, which later became the
Alabama Policy Institute The Alabama Policy Institute (API) is a nonprofit, conservative think tank located in Alabama. According to the organization's mission statement, it is "dedicated to influencing public policy in the interest of the preservation of free markets, li ...
. He served as its president for 25 years, stepping down in 2014 to run for Congress. Palmer helped found the
State Policy Network The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advises ...
, a
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
for
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
and
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
s that focus on state-level policy, and served as its president.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


2014

Palmer declared his candidacy for the 6th district following the retirement announcement of 11-term
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
Spencer Bachus Spencer Thomas Bachus III (born December 28, 1947) is an American politician. He is a former U.S. Representative for the state of Alabama, serving from 1993 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as ranking member (2007–2011) an ...
. In a crowded seven-way Republican
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...
—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—Palmer finished second behind state representative
Paul DeMarco Paul J. DeMarco (born July 20, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Alabama. He is a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the 46th district since 2005. He ran in the United States H ...
. In the ensuing
runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
, Palmer picked up the support of the
Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on cutting taxes and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are the billionaires Jeff Yass and Richard U ...
. Despite outspending Palmer, DeMarco lost momentum after a botched debate with Palmer and never recovered. By election day, polls suggested Palmer would win the nomination by 30 points. Palmer won the runoff, 64% to 36%. In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Mark Lester, a history professor at Birmingham-Southern College, 76% to 24%, but he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his primary victory. With a
Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
of R+28, the 6th was tied with the neighboring 4th as Alabama's most Republican district. Palmer has been reelected three times with only nominal opposition, running unopposed in 2020. He has only dropped below 70% once. In 2018, Democrat Danner Kline held him to 69.2%. Kline received 30.8% of the vote, the best showing for a Democrat in almost a quarter-century. It is the only time since the GOP began its current run in the seat in 1993 that a Democrat has managed 30% of the vote.


2022

Palmer ran for reelection to the House in the general election on November 8, 2022. Unchallenged in the Republican primary and with no Democratic candidates qualified to run in this district, Palmer was initially left unopposed. However, the Libertarian Party qualified for ballot access in May 2022, giving Palmer a general-election opponent,
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supervisor Andria Chieffo. Palmer defeated Chieffo in the general election with 83.7% of the vote to Chieffo's 15.1%.


Tenure

Palmer took office on January 3, 2015, along with the other freshmen members of the 114th Congress. Palmer voted against the
American Rescue Plan The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to s ...
, an economic recovery and COVID-19 relief bill, in February 2021. His rationale for opposing the bill was that it was "not about COVID relief, but about the Democrat agenda", and a "repeat of the failed stimulus bill passed in 2009 under President Obama and then Vice President Biden." Despite Palmer's claims, the American Rescue Plan is unrelated to the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
. Palmer was criticized for touting funding for the Birmingham Northern Beltline that he added to the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and originally in the House as the INVEST in America ActH.R. 3684, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress ...
while neglecting to mention that he voted against the final bill. As of October 2021, Palmer had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 7.5% of the time.


Committee assignments

*
Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
** Subcommittee on Energy ** Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations


Caucus memberships

*
Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and farth ...
*
Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prim ...


Political positions

As of 2020, Palmer has a 92% rating for supporting conservative causes, according to
Heritage Action for America Heritage Action for America, more commonly known simply as Heritage Action, is a conservative policy advocacy organization founded in 2010. Heritage Action, which has affiliates throughout the United States, is a sister organization of the conser ...
. The American Conservative Union's center for legislative accountability gave him a 97% lifetime conservative rating and the progressive PAC
Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting prog ...
gave him a 0% liberal quotient in 2019.


Abortion

Palmer opposes legal
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. Palmer supported the 2022 overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''.


LGBTQ rights

Palmer has stated that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice is something "no reasonable person" would allow and said that "the safety implications for sexual predation have been well documented." He opposes
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
, saying, "No one can change the fundamental nature of what marriage is: the union of a man and a woman and the formation of a family which is the foundation of every civilization."


COVID-19

During the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
crisis, Palmer opposed
proxy voting Proxy voting is a form of voting whereby a member of a decision-making body may delegate their voting power to a representative, to enable a vote in absence. The representative may be another member of the same body, or external. A person so d ...
while Congress was unable to work onsite at the Capitol due to shelter-in-place orders.


Drugs

Palmer voted to support
medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...
research but opposes legalizing marijuana.


Gun law

Palmer supports
gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...
. He opposes what he deems unconstitutional gun restrictions. He supports efforts that enable legal gun owners to carry their guns, including concealed carry, over state lines.


Health care

Palmer opposes the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
, calling it "a nightmare" and "job-killing." He supports efforts to repeal it.


Homeland security

Palmer is pro-nuclear weapons. He supports increasing funding for the Defense Department specifically around work in the Middle East.


Immigration

Palmer opposes
illegal immigration to the United States Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals (aliens) who have entered the United States unlawfully, as well as thos ...
, including allowing undocumented workers to work in the U.S. He supports efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.


Tax reform

Palmer voted for the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...
. He said the bill would "put more money in the pockets of the American people" and "launch economic growth." He blamed the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
and a "burdensome tax code that was designed for a 1986 economy" for an "anemic" economy.


Term limits

After his election in the 2014 midterms, Palmer signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge, agreeing to serve no more than five two-year terms, or 10 years. Palmer's signature also meant that he pledged to sponsor legislation enacting term limits for U.S. representatives and senators. In September 2021, the U.S. Term Limits group accused Palmer of refusing to cosponsor a term limits amendment, alleging that he had broken the pledge. The group purchased billboards in Alabama's 6th congressional district attacking Palmer. Palmer's re-election campaign responded by calling the accusation "
fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...
," charging that the pledge only applied to the
114th United States Congress The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from Jan ...
and that Palmer cosponsored the amendment for three consecutive terms. Palmer's pledge meant that the 2022 elections would be his last. However, in March 2022, Palmer stated that he made the pledge before becoming a part of Republican leadership in Congress; he also took high turnover in Alabama's congressional delegation into consideration, indicating that he would likely run for re-election in
2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...
to maintain senior leadership from Alabama, despite the pledge.


Overturning the 2020 election results

Palmer was at the Capitol to certify the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
results on January 6, 2021, when the attack on the Capitol took place. During the attack, Palmer tweeted that it was a "sad day" and that "the scenes we witnessed today were unacceptable." After the attack, Palmer voted against certifying the election, objecting to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electoral votes. On January 13, Palmer blamed Donald Trump for "sending" the attackers to the Capitol. He voted against impeaching Trump a second time, calling the second impeachment a Democratic "abuse of power" and a "sham process." In December 2020, Palmer was one of 126 Republican members of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
to sign an
amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
contesting the results of the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
, in which Joe Biden defeated Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked
standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...
under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.


Electoral history


Personal life

Palmer is married to Ann Cushing Palmer. They have three children. When working in Washington, D.C., Palmer sleeps at his office on Capitol Hill. Palmer is a longtime member of
Briarwood Presbyterian Church Briarwood Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America located in suburban Birmingham, Alabama. History It was formed in 1960 by the Rev. Frank M. Barker, Jr. and has been a conservative evangelical Protestant cong ...
in Birmingham.


References


External links


Congressman Gary Palmer
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Gary 1954 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama University of Alabama alumni American Presbyterians