Prattville businesswoman and attorney Jessica Taylor became the latest Republican candidate to announce intentions to run for Alabama’s open 2nd District congressional seat next year.
Taylor, founder and CEO of Montgomery-based Azimuth, announced her candidacy for the congressional seat that is being vacated by Republican U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery.
Taylor, in a news release Monday, described herself as a “proud conservative, born and raised in rural Alabama” who supports President Donald Trump and who is tired to “radical socialists and liberal loudmouths” like Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
“I’m running for Congress because Alabama needs a new generation of conservative leadership to take on these radical liberals,” Taylor said in the news release. “Alabama’s conservative values are at stake and I will fight every single day to defend them.”
Taylor is the first woman to announce her candidacy to replace Roby. Other Republican candidates for the seat include former Alabama Attorney General Troy King, state Rep. Will Dismukes of Prattville, former state Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise, businessman Jeff Coleman and electrician and former law enforcement officer Bob Rogers.
The district is reliably Republican, and is rated a +16 for the GOP by Cook Political Report. The district, however, faces an uncertain future due to the possibility of Alabama losing a congressional seat following the 2020 Census count.
Taylor is only the third woman in Alabama to announce her plans on running for Congress next year. In Alabama’s 1st congressional district, research scientist and biology professor Kiani Gardner is running as a Democrat. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, is running for re-election in Alabama’s 7th district congressional race.
She is the wife of Bryan Taylor, who served as Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s general counsel until he resigned earlier this month. In a resignation letter -- posted online earlier this month -- Brian Taylor said he felt his wife’s run for Congress “deserves my full support, and I want to be available to her whenever she needs it.”
Jessica Taylor began her career writing and managing grants while working in the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community initiatives. Her tenure included management statewide initiatives, including Alabama Communities for Education, a high school dropout prevent program
In 2010, she founded Azimuth to help non-profit organizations, schools, and local governments to become stronger in their communities by helping them navigate the maze of government regulations to get results.