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Becky Gerritson
Becky Gerritson was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 2nd Congressional District of Alabama. She was defeated by incumbent Martha Roby in the March 2016 primary.[1][2] Gerritson is the founder and president of the Wetumpka TEA Party. In 2013, she testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on IRS targeting of the Wetumpka TEA Party.[3]
Career
In 2009, Becky Gerritson and her husband Eric Gerritson, a retired Air Force veteran, founded the Wetumpka TEA Party. Gerritson served as the party's vice president and president.[4] The party now has over 1,200 members, according to the party's website.[5]
In 2011, Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley appointed Gerritson to the Alabama Constitutional Revision Committee. She remained on the committee until 2012.[4]
In June 2013, Gerritson went before the House Ways and Means Committee to discuss the allegations that the IRS had been targeting conservative groups. She told the panel the IRS had delayed her request for tax-exempt status and asked "intrusive questions."[3] She stated that "[t]his was not an accident. This is a willful act of intimidation to discourage a point of view. What the government did to our little group in Wetumpka, Alabama, is un-American."[3]
In October 2015, Gerritson announced that she would run for congress and challenge incumbent Rep. Martha Roby (R) of Alabama's 2nd District.[6][7] Gerritson criticized Roby and stated that she was "totally out of touch with her constituents. District 2 is a very conservative district yet her lifetime average score from Heritage Action is a measly 51 percent. That is unacceptable. She is distancing herself from her constituents more and more."[8] Todd Stacy, spokesman for Roby, responded by saying that they wwould "deal with the rest of these nonsense talking points if [Gerritson] actually decide[d] to run."[8] After Gerritson's announcement in October, Stacy defended Roby's conservative platform.[6]
Gerritson stated that, as a congresswoman, she would repeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood, oppose immigrant amnesty, secure the border with Mexico and oppose same-sex marriage.[6] Gerritson was defeated by Roby in the March 2016 Republican primary.[1]
Elections
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Martha Roby (R) defeated the only Democrat to file in the race, Nathan Mathis, in the general election. Roby defeated Becky Gerritson and Robert Rogers in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016.[1][9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Martha Roby Incumbent |
48.8% | 134,886 | |
| Democratic | Nathan Mathis | 40.5% | 112,089 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 10.7% | 29,609 | |
| Total Votes | 276,584 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Martha Roby Incumbent |
66.4% | 78,689 | ||
| Becky Gerritson | 27.8% | 33,015 | ||
| Robert Rogers | 5.8% | 6,856 | ||
| Total Votes | 118,560 | |||
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State |
||||
Campaign themes
2016
The following issues were listed on Gerritson's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Becky Gerritson's campaign website, http://beckyforcongress.com/issues/ | ||
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Alabama's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016
- Alabama's 2nd Congressional District
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The New York Times, "Alabama Primary Results," accessed March 1, 2016
- ↑ Conservative HQ, "Tea Party Leader Becky Gerritson Announces For Congress," October 1, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Alabama.com, "Wetumpka Tea Party leader says what IRS did was 'un-American'," June 4, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alabama Republican Party, "A Rising Republican Star: Becky Gerritson," June 10, 2013
- ↑ Wetumpka TEA Party, "About Us," accessed December 15, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Alabama.com, "Wetumpka Tea Party founder Becky Gerritson challenges Martha Roby for Congress," October 1, 2015
- ↑ Yellow Hammer News, "Alabama tea party leader signals she will challenge Martha Roby for congressional seat," September 29, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Alabama.com, "Wetumpka Tea Party leader Becky Gerritson eyes Congressional run, Rep. Roby responds to allegations," February 19, 2015
- ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "2016 Qualified Alabama Republican Candidates," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Alabama Democrats, "Qualified Democratic Candidates as of November 6, 2015," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
