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Douglas Bell
Douglas Bell (independent) ran for election for President of the United States. He lost as a write-in in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Elections
2022
See also: Alabama's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Alabama District 3
Incumbent Mike Rogers defeated Lin Veasey, Douglas Bell, and Thomas Casson in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 3 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Rogers (R) | 71.2 | 135,602 |
 | Lin Veasey (D)  | 25.1 | 47,859 | |
 | Douglas Bell (Independent) | 2.0 | 3,831 | |
 | Thomas Casson (L) | 1.6 | 3,034 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 80 | ||
| Total votes: 190,406 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Lin Veasey advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 3.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 3
Incumbent Mike Rogers defeated Michael Joiner in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 3 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Rogers | 81.9 | 70,843 |
 | Michael Joiner | 18.1 | 15,618 | |
| Total votes: 86,461 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent John Lewis (D) defeated Douglas Bell (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent on May 24, 2016.[1][2]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  John Lewis Incumbent |
84.4% | 253,781 | |
| Republican | Douglas Bell | 15.6% | 46,768 | |
| Total Votes | 300,549 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Douglas Bell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I am a fiscal conservative. However, unlike others who make that claim, I will be honest with people and tell them that making strides to balance the budget will likely require sacrifice from us all to set a path for economic stability for future generations of Americans. I believe in cutting federal government to achieve this goal beginning with those things that are specifically enumerated in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. However, I am also for simplifying our tax system in order to do away with corporate welfare and tax loopholes for the rich. I believe in having a strong military that will take good care of our soldiers and veterans but also operate in a fiscally responsible manner.to be around for the long term.
- I believe that Religious Freedom is a foundation of our nation. I believe that religious freedom of the First Amendment applies to our everyday lives and not just our religious institutions. I believe a great amount of religious freedom was stripped away in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when the government began to dictate to employers, even private employers, what things they could not consider when making hiring decisions. Whoever funds the payroll should decide what things they consider when making hiring decisions in accordance with their own religious beliefs. I believe that the free market should reward or punish wise or foolish employers rather than an agency of the federal government.
- I have signed the pledge for the organization U.S. Term Limits to support legislation introduced by Senator Ted Cruz to amend the constitution so that U.S. Representatives will be limited to three terms and U.S. Senators will be limited to two terms. In the words of one of my political heroes of recent years, former Senator and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul, “term limits will increase performance and prevent corruption.” Those two outcomes he stresses are truly needed in both houses of Congress.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Bell's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Term Limits In the words of one of my political heroes of recent years, former Senator and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul, “term limits will increase performance and prevent corruption.” Those two outcomes he stresses are truly needed in both houses of Congress – it’s as simple as that. I am proudly and without reservation signing a pledge for the organization US. Term Limits: “. . . that as a member of Congress I will cosponsor and vote for the U.S. Term Limits Amendment of three (3) House terms and two (2) Senate terms and no longer limit.” You may see my signed pledge at https://www.termlimits.com/doug-bell-pledges-to-support-term-limits-on-congress/. You may also see that Representative Mike Rogers is NOT on the list of ninety current members of congress that have signed the pledge at https://www.termlimits.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/117thCongressPledgeSigners.pdf.
Heritage Action was founded by one of the leading conservative advocacy groups, The Heritage Foundation, for the purpose of holding politicians accountable based on their voting record. A simple scroll through the votes by Representative Mike Rogers on the Heritage Action website reveals why he is given a 69% lifetime voting scorecard by them.[i] Representative Rogers may be “conservative” on some issues, but he is not a fiscal conservative. He supports big federal government spending packages that pass on enormous amounts of debt to our children. One must look no further than his “yes” vote on the $1.5 trillion Omnibus and Supplemental Package that passed in March of 2022 to get a glimpse about where Mike Rogers stands. Heritage Action wrote the following about the spending bill:
Someone may ask, how could someone who represents a professed conservative district like Alabama’s 3rd vote for a bill laced with big-government spending and liberals’ “pet projects?” The answer is that the U.S. Congress is the place where everybody gets a little more of what they want and everyone’s wallet stays fatter for a little longer. Meanwhile, we plunge faster down the fiscal cliff and into the valley of economic ruin that will be very difficult for future generations of Americans to climb out of. If you take the time and probe a little deeper, it becomes apparent why Representative Rogers would vote for such a bill. Representative Rogers is the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, and the Democrats ideally want to boast that the bills they’ve passed have received bipartisan support. Therefore, the Republicans jockey for as much increase in military spending as possible in exchange for support of the Democrat bill. With the Army Depot in Anniston as one of the largest employers in Alabama’s 3rd District, Representative Rogers can then better fulfill on his promise to do everything he can to keep the Depot open. The same priorities applied in 2018, when against the approval of Heritage Action, Representative Rogers voted for the $300 Billion Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, even though the Republicans had the presidency and both chambers of Congress at that time. He supported fiscally irresponsible spending in exchange for more spending for the military. Therein lies the primary difference between Representative Rogers and me. Of course, I want a strong military. Of course, I want to prioritize spending on the military over “entitlement programs” since national defense is an enumerated power of the federal government in our constitution. Of course, I want more jobs for the people of Alabama’s 3rd District. However, I am a fiscal conservative. I want a strong but affordable military so that its strength can be sustained over the long term. I want jobs for people in Alabama’s 3rd District but not by heaping massive amounts of debt on our children. I simply believe we should do what it right, that is, spend wisely within our means, and trust God to both keep us safe and to provide our sustenance. That is supposed to be why we have “In God We Trust” as the national motto on our currency. Ronald Reagan used to be one of my heroes (and I still like to quote him on many issues) until I realized that it was under his administration that we began to accumulate massive amounts of debt from which we have never recovered. We may have won the Cold War for the short term, but considering where we are fiscally, I am not sure how long the U.S. will remain a military superpower to be able to sustain that win. When great amounts of debt are used to support a military, the Bible verse comes to mind, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). For far too long, we have been going down that route of trusting in “horses and chariots” and diminishing our trust in the name of the Lord our God. However, I offer hope. I believe it is not too late to turn from our idolatry as a nation and to simply spend within our means. I do not know what that will look like and what the outcome of that will be. What I do know is this. God always blesses obedience to His will. That blessing may not come in the way we may hope for, but it will come. I realize that with my gaining ballot access as an Independent Candidate and the Alabama Libertarian Party gaining statewide ballot access, Alabama’s 3rd District will have four choices on the ballot in this year’s general election in November rather than two as usual. However, if you are simply trying to decide between Representative Mike Rogers and me, the choice should be clear. If your main concern is more jobs in the district for the short term, having fatter wallets for the short term, and having a stronger military for the short term, then Representative Rogers is your man. If instead you agree with me that doing what is right means spending within your means, will you also join me in seeking to support doing the right thing and trusting God with the results? I don’t know about you, but I have found God to be faithful to meet my needs in ways unexpected when I have sought to do what was right before Him, rather than what was seemingly more financially beneficial. Who would have thought that the Israelites would have gained victory over the powerful Egyptian army when they were trapped between them and the Red Sea? God made a way when there seemed to be no way. I just want to be on His side. [i] https://heritageaction.com/scorecard/members/R000575/ [ii] https://heritageaction.com/scorecard/votes/h65-2022
As I participated in a forum for political candidates hosted by the Lee County League of Voters, a question was asked that I was eager to answer. The question was “do you have any plans to deal with the problem of recidivism, that is, the tendency of criminal offenders to repeat criminal behavior and end up being incarcerated again?” I believe the greatest solution to that problem will not be found through more government involvement but rather through getting the government out of the way, especially the federal government. I believe Jesus gave us the solution 2,000 years ago when he gave us what is called The Great Commission. My plan is to free up private employers of any size to be able to live it out in their businesses without the federal government interference created by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids employers, even private ones with 15 or more employees, to consider race, skin color, national origin, gender, AND RELIGION when making hiring decisions or decisions to retain the services of an employee. In 2013, a Christian business was hit with a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an agency of the federal government. The lawsuit was based on an alleged violation of the religious component of Title VII. They were threatened by an attorney of the EEOC to remove faith from their hiring practices or essentially be fined into nonexistence. What the EEOC did to this company sent a clear message to all employers to “leave your faith at home” when it comes to hiring decisions or else face our vengeance. At the forum, other candidates spoke of job skills training to help people who have been incarcerated to find gainful employment as a solution to this problem. I don’t want to minimize the importance of job skills training in the technical aspects of a job. However, utilizing only jobs skills training in the technical aspects of the job does not solve the more foundational problem. There is a reason that recidivism exists. In theological terms, it is called “the bondage of sin.” All the “job skills” training in the world will not free people from this bondage and that is why all the money government throws at this problem will not solve it. Instead, we continue to get further into debt and the problem seems to grow worse. As a Christian, I believe it is only through faith in the death of Jesus on the cross for unworthy sinners and His resurrection that frees people from this bondage. However, this faith is not like an “on-off” light switch that a person either does not have at all or has completely, but it is more like a “dimmer” light switch. In other words, faith is something people grow in as they begin to incorporate Christian practices that are designed to help strengthen their faith. Just like growth in the technical skills of a job generally utilizes a mentor, so also spiritual growth generally utilizes a mentor. I can name several men that have played that role in my life. The stronger one’s faith grows, the freer a person becomes from the bondage to sin which not only reduces the chances of recidivism, but also makes them a great employee since development in moral character is just as important to becoming a great employee, if not more important, than growth in proficiency in the technical aspects of job. My plan is simplistic. As an example, allow employers to say to a prospective employee, “if you will be willing to be mentored not only in the technical aspects of the job, but also in Christian faith, I will give you a job.” I was offered a job as an apprentice electrician due to a commitment to regularly take classes at an electrical contractor’s cooperative to be trained as an electrician. Why not give freedom for the same type of business model but using a “holistic development strategy?” Of course, I am writing from a Christian perspective because that is who I am and that is what I did in my own business as I helped young men, who typically came from homes without a father and were high school dropouts, learn to be successful in the workforce by implementing this kind of “holistic development.” However, due to the First Amendment, the same freedom would apply to an employer of any faith who desires to use the same-type business model. Due to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which contains a religious component, for fifty-eight years we have been regulating employers of 15 or more employees to prevent them from being able to do this without being a “lightning rod” for a religious discrimination lawsuit. Instead of achieving “the great society” that these regulations were supposed to aid in achieving, we are now a society whose workforce has been weakened and the per capita debt as a share of the national debt is $90,000. Why not try freedom again and allow employers to hire who they desire to hire in accordance with their own religious beliefs in the business where they fund the payroll. Granted, when employers had this freedom, many may have used it for evil purposes such as discrimination based on skin color. However, considering where we are as a nation, I believe it is high time to give a new generation of people of faith a chance to use this freedom for noble purposes such as reducing the chances of recidivism taking place or helping any person who, unlike most of us in Alabama’s 3rd District, come from homes where there was very little or no spiritual training. Please stand with me to amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 so that it does not apply to private businesses of any size. Also, please watch the video of my children as they articulate my position in a “rap” called The Disciple Rap: The “Liberty Plan” v. the “Liberal Plan.”
When we talk of compassion and individual responsibility as they pertain to healthcare public policy, I believe they must be balanced. I do not want to be guilty of going too far to the extreme in either direction. We can err too much on the individual responsibility side. Some people have adverse health conditions they are born with, but we know that others have conditions that are a result of unhealthy choices they have made. In the case of the latter, it is easy to become callous, not remembering the words of Jesus, “to him who is without sin let him cast the first stone.” At the same time, in that same biblical narrative, Jesus also said, “now go and sin no more.” I personally believe that Jesus saw a broken and contrite heart in the woman caught in adultery. I do not think that the actions of Jesus would have been the same if he saw a defiant attitude. In accordance with what I call the “whole counsel of God,” I believe that there is a place for “tough love” to be administered and being “too compassionate” is not the most loving route in helping people learn to take responsibility for their decisions. When applying this to public healthcare policy, I do not claim to know the perfect balance between compassion and individual responsibility. What I do believe, not just about public healthcare policy but a myriad of other issues, is the following: There are elected representatives in all fifty state legislatures that should be committed and tasked to calculate and maintain that balance for the people they represent. I will not quote the words of Jesus this time but the words of Thomas Jefferson which reflect my core political philosophy: “The government closest to the people governs best.” I will stand with like-minded Republicans and anyone else who desires the reduction of federal power to mandate and the increase of states’ rights and power to develop and implement healthcare policy. This translates into repealing the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. Being people of compassion is important to receiving the blessing of God for any nation; I just don’t believe it is the role of the federal government to define or mandate it.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Need I say more about where I stand on our right to bear arms? If anything, we need to try to enforce the laws that are already on the books in order to be responsible stewards of this foundational right. Some in the government seem to be hell-bent on systematically taking away our freedoms, including the one afforded us in the 2nd amendment. For reasons given to us by our founding fathers, we need to be very diligent about preserving our right to bear arms.[3] |
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| —Douglas Bell's campaign website (2022)[4] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 12, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Georgia Primary Results," May 24, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Doug Bell for US Congress, “Core Issues,” accessed October 8, 2022
