Preceded by Spencer Bachus Website www.palmer.house.gov Nationality American Name Gary Palmer | Political party Republican Spouse Ann Palmer Religion Presbyterian Party Republican Party | |
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Born May 14, 1954 (age 69)
Hackleburg, Alabama ( 1954-05-14 ) Occupation Co-founder and president of the Alabama Policy Institute Role United States Representative Office United States Representative since 2015 Children Claire Palmer, Kathleen Palmer, Rob Palmer Education University of Alabama, University of Mobile Profiles | ||
Gary James Palmer (born May 14, 1954) is an American politician from the state of Alabama. Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2014, he represents Alabama's 6th congressional district. Prior to his career as an elected official, Palmer co-founded and served as the long-time president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives.
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Early life, education and career
Palmer was born in Hackleburg, Alabama. He has a bachelor's degree in operations management from the University of Alabama. In 1989, Palmer co-founded the Alabama Family Alliance, which later became the Alabama Policy Institute. Palmer served as president of the conservative think tank for 25 years, stepping down in 2014 to pursue a run for Congress. Palmer helped found the State Policy Network, a nonprofit umbrella organization for conservative and libertarian think tanks which focus on state-level policy, and served as its president.
Palmer is a longtime member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Birmingham.
2014 election
Palmer declared his candidacy for the 6th district following the retirement announcement of 11-term incumbent Spencer Bachus. In the Republican primary election—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—Palmer finished second behind state representative Paul DeMarco. In the ensuing runoff election, Palmer picked up the support of the Club for Growth. Palmer won the runoff election by a margin of 64% to 36%. In the November 4, 2014 general election, Palmer defeated Democratic nominee Mark Lester, a history professor at Birmingham-Southern College, 76% to 24%.
Tenure
Palmer took office on January 3, 2015, along with the other freshmen members of the 114th Congress.
Conservative Review has graded Palmer's voting record an A with a Liberty Score of 100%. Palmer is one of only three Republican representatives to receive this highest possible grade out of 247 Republicans in the House of Representatives.