MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – There are two Democratic candidates on the ballot for Alabama’s district two congressional race in the primary elections: Phyllis Harvey-Hall and Vimal Patel.
This is Harvey-Hall’s second time running against Barry Moore. She ran back in 2020 and decided to run again after the January 6th attacks.
“When I watched Barry Moore go to the floor and negate so many Alabamians and not consider their wishes as he voted to decertify a dully appointed election, well, I knew that we had to have someone who would “I knew that we had to have someone who was willing to go in and challenge him and actually fight for this district again,” Harvey-Hall said.
For years now, Harvey-Hall has been making her face and name known in the community. She’s been attending commissioner meetings and networking to learn more about the political arena. She also has 25 years of experience in the classroom, and she hopes to use that experience to make changes to education, the criminal justice system, and infrastructure.
“Education and infrastructure are key, and infrastructure includes more than our roads and our bridges; it’s also talking about broadband expansion and giving people the opportunity to have high-speed internet,” she said. “And when we’re talking about education and that workforce development piece. It all just transitions seamlessly into what I’m looking at. We need more funding for two-year colleges, we need people to have access to public education and workforce development, and we need people to have access to quality internet.”
Her opponent Patel took a different path to politics. Originally from Troy, he graduated from college and began working in the family business. The Patel family businesses range from hotels to laundry mats. He said he’s an efficient entrepreneur and business savvy and he hopes to use these skills to reform education and support small businesses.
“Proration, can you imagine having proration in other parts of our country? We can’t have this in education. Education reform isn’t pretty, but we need to address it. Small business is also being talked about on both sides of the aisle and we are hands-on and in the front of this ship. I’m proud to represent small business owners,” Patel said.
He also wants to focus on family and term limits.
“People need to stop electing folks, who have made the majority of their life out there campaigning, and calling it a career,” he said. “Nowadays, you see a lot more politicians with a business background, and I think they’re best suited to fix the mess that we’re in…. because we are absolutely in a mess.”
The winner will go up against current Congressman Barry Moore in the general election.
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