Gary Palmer (politician)

Palmer declared his candidacy for the 6th district following the retirement announcement of 11-term incumbent Spencer Bachus.[5] 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.[9] Palmer won the runoff election by a margin of 64% to 36%.[10] In the November 4, 2014 general election, Palmer defeated Democratic nominee Mark Lester, a history professor at Birmingham-Southern College, 76% to 24%.[11] However, he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his primary victory. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+28, the 6th was tied with the neighboring 4th as the most Republican district in Alabama. Since it assumed its current configuration as a mostly suburban district in 1992, a Democrat has only crossed the 30 percent mark once.

Gary Palmer's swearing in for his second tenure in office in 2017.

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.[12]

Palmer was elected Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee for the 116th Congress[13]

• United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
• Republican Study Committee[14]

Palmer opposes legal abortion and says that the Declaration of Independence was pro-life in its statements on "all men" having "unalienable Rights" to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."[15]

Palmer supports bathroom bills. He 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."[16]

He also opposes same-sex marriage stating that "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."[17]

Palmer voted to support medical marijuana research but is opposed to legalizing marijuana.[15]

Palmer voted in support of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[18] He says that the tax plan would "put more money in the pockets of the American people" and "launch economic growth." He blamed the Obama administration and a "burdensome tax code that was designed for a 1986 economy," for an "anemic" economy.[19]