Gary Palmer

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Gary Palmer, whose full name is Gary James Palmer, was born on May 14, 1954, in Hackleburg, Alabama, and grew up on his family's 40-acre farm, where he helped maintain the family garden and animals. He earned a Bachelor of Science in operations management from the University of Alabama, becoming the first member of his family to earn a college degree. While at the university he was a walk-on wide receiver for the Crimson Tide and played under Bear Bryant.

Career

Gary Palmer's career in public policy began in 1989, when he co-founded the Alabama Family Alliance, which later became the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. He served as its president for 25 years before stepping down in 2014 to run for Congress, and he also helped found the State Policy Network and served as its president.

After 11-term incumbent Spencer Bachus announced his retirement, Palmer ran for the 6th district in 2014.

He finished second in a seven-way Republican primary behind state representative Paul DeMarco, won the runoff by 64% to 36%, and defeated Democrat Mark Lester by 76% to 24% in the general election. He took office on January 3, 2015.

Palmer chaired the Republican Policy Committee from 2019 to 2025, and in the 118th Congress he served on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

In October 2023 he was briefly a candidate for Speaker of the House and dropped out of the race before an internal caucus forum.

2026 race

Gary Palmer is the Republican nominee in the 2026 election for Alabama's 6th congressional district, which covers the central part of the state near Greater Birmingham, including northeastern parts of Birmingham and Jefferson County and the surrounding suburbs.

Palmer, the incumbent, was re-elected with 70.3% of the vote in 2024. Under the legislature-approved redistricted map, the only change to the district was that half of Elmore County was ceded to the 2nd district.

Palmer was the nominee in the nonbinding Republican primary and then won the special Republican primary with 87.0% of the vote against physical therapist assistant Case Dixon. In the November 3, 2026, general election he faces Democrat Maurice Mercer, a former Pelham City Council President.