Bradley Byrne | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2014 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's1st district | |
| In office January 8, 2014 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Jo Bonner |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Carl |
| Chancellor of theAlabama Community College System | |
| In office May 2007 – August 31, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Freida Hill |
| Member of theAlabama Senate from the32nd district | |
| In office November 2002 – January 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Albert Lipscomb |
| Succeeded by | Trip Pittman |
| Member of theAlabama State Board of Education from the 1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 4, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | John Tyson |
| Succeeded by | Randy McKinney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bradley Roberts Byrne (1955-02-16)February 16, 1955 (age 70) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic (before 1997) Republican (1997–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Duke University (BA) University of Alabama (JD) |
Byrne on an amendment to support the oyster industry on theGulf Coast. Recorded September 28, 2016 | |
Bradley Roberts Byrne (born February 16, 1955[1]) is an American attorney and politician who served as theU.S. representative forAlabama's 1st congressional district from 2014 to 2021. Elected as a member of the state Board of Education as a Democrat in 1994, he became a member of theRepublican Party in 1997 and served in theAlabama Senate from 2003 to 2007, representing the state's32nd district.[2][3][4]
Byrne was chancellor of the Alabama Community College System from 2007 until he resigned in 2009 to run for the 2010 Republican nomination forgovernor of Alabama.[5][6][7][8] In December 2013 he won aspecial election to represent the state's 1st congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives. Byrne ran in the Republican primary for the2020 United States Senate election in Alabama but was defeated in the first round of the primary byTommy Tuberville andJeff Sessions.[9][10]
Bradley Byrne was born in 1955 inMobile, Alabama.[1] He was one of three children. He was raised inBaldwin County, Alabama.[11] He attendedUMS-Wright Preparatory School in Mobile, graduating in 1973.[1] Byrne graduated fromDuke University in 1977. At Duke, he became a member of thePhi Delta Theta fraternity. In 1980, he graduated from theUniversity of Alabama School of Law. He was classmates withMo Brooks.[12] After graduation, he became a private practice lawyer.[1]
Byrne's first run for elective office, in 1994, was a success when he was elected to theAlabama State Board of Education as a Democrat.[13][14] During his term on the Board of Education, Byrne supported a science curriculum that was opposed by many religious leaders in Alabama. He later voted with the Board to support a compromise that said, "Explanations of the origin of life and major groups of plants and animals, including humans, shall be treated as theory and not as fact. When attempting to apply scientific knowledge to world problems, no social agenda shall be promoted."[15] In 1996 Byrne voted with the majority of board members to reject $18 million in federal education funds because it was feared the money would allow greater federal control of schools. The vote was seen as a nod to the growing conservative influence in his south Alabama district.[15] Byrne later changed his mind and convinced the Board to allow the money.[16]
In 1997 Byrne left theDemocratic Party and became a Republican.[17]
In 2002 Byrne ran for an Alabama State Senate seat, representing part ofBaldwin County.[18] He won with 91% of the vote over his Democratic challenger.[19]
In May 2007 Byrne took the position of community college chancellor[20] and oversaw a controversial reordering of much of the system.Bishop State Community College in Mobile was the target of investigators who found both financial and academic issues at the school in 2006 and 2007. Byrne ordered an audit of the school, which demonstrated many deficiencies. At the time, about two dozen people were charged with criminal fraud and theft charges. A total of 27 were charged before the probe ended in May 2007.[20][21]
Byrne also worked with Alabama Attorney GeneralTroy King to recover money stolen from the community college system.[22] He resigned as Chancellor on August 31, 2009.[23]
During the campaign, he was accused by his opponents in the Republican primary of supportingevolution and of doubting that the Bible wasinfallible. Byrne responded, "as a Christian and as a public servant, I have never wavered in my belief that this world and everything in it is a masterpiece created by the hands of God ... As a member of the Alabama Board of Education, the record clearly shows that I fought to ensure the teaching ofcreationism in our school text books. Those who attack me have distorted, twisted and misrepresented my comments and are spewing utter lies to the people of this state." He also added that he believed"every single word" of the Bible was true.[24]
Following the runoff, Byrne went back to practicing business law, joining the law firm Jones Walker on August 16, 2010.[25]
On February 23, 2011, Byrne announced he was partnering with other prominent Alabamians to create anonprofit organization that would push for reforms in state government.[26] Named Reform Alabama, the organization actively supported legislation in the 2011 Alabama Regular Legislative Session.[27]
In 2011, Byrne considered running forchief justice of theAlabama Supreme Court in the 2012 election,[28] but ultimately did not enter the race.
On May 23, 2013,U.S. RepresentativeJo Bonner announced that he would resign, effective August 15, 2013.[29]
Byrne finished first in the Republican primary and faced Tea Party candidate Dean Young in the runoff election. Byrne won the runoff, but Young refused to endorse him,[why?] which led to rumors of a rift within the Republican Party. Byrne subsequently gained the endorsement of Alabama Patriots, a Tea Party-affiliated organization.[30] Byrne faced Democratic Party nominee Burton LeFlore on December 17, 2013.[31][32] Byrne won the election with 71% of the vote.[32] At the time of his election, Byrne was only the sixth person to represent this Mobile-based district since 1919, continuing an unbroken run of Republican control in the district dating back to 1965.
Byrne was originally expected to be running for reelection unopposed, but Burton LeFlore, his Democratic opponent in the 2013 special election, qualified.[33][34] Byrne was reelected with 68% of the vote.[35] The district has aPVI of R+15.
Byrne won the Republican primary with 60.1% over his 2013 challenger Young. He was unopposed in the general election.[36]
Byrne was unopposed in the primary election. He won the general election by 63.15% to 36.78% over Democrat Robert Kennedy, Jr.[37]
As of the end of 2019, Byrne had voted in line with PresidentDonald Trump's position 96.8% of the time,[38] in line with the majority of House Republicans 91.9–98.4% of the time, and against the majority of House Republicans 1.6%–8.1% of the time.[39] In 2019,David M. McIntosh, of the conservative lobby organizationClub for Growth, called Byrne "not a conservative" and a "fake politician."[40]
Byrne ispro-life.[41][42] In 2011, he co-sponsored the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which would have banned abortions based on race or sex. Two years later, in 2013, he co-sponsored theTitle X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which would have prohibited federal funds supporting family planning organizations that provide abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk. Byrne also co-sponsored an amendment to theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that would categorizefetuses as human beings.[43]
In 2019 Byrne voted against theEquality Act, a bill that would expand the federalCivil Rights Act of 1964 to bandiscrimination based onsexual orientation andgender identity.[44] In House debates on the legislation, Byrne criticized the bill, calling it "radical" and "deeply troubling."[45]
Byrne was given a "D" rating fromNORML for his pro-cannabis stance. NORML describes him as "hard on drugs."[46] Byrne supports the federal government preventing states from legalizing medical marijuana. In 2019, he voted against theSAFE Banking Act.[47]
In 2014, Byrne signed the Lawful Ivory Protection Act.[48]
In October 2019 Byrne andMo Brooks were the only Republican members of the Alabama House delegation to vote against a resolution condemning Trump for removing U.S. military forces from Syria, which had greatly endangered theKurdish resistance to theIslamic State in Syria (ISIS).[49]
In 2017, Byrne voted in favor oflegislation imposing additional sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, which passed on a 419–3 vote.[38] In 2019, however, Byrne voted against a measure disapproving of the Trump administration's plan to lift sanctions imposed against three Russian firms.[38]
In 2019, Byrne voted against measures to halt U.S. arms sales toSaudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, and also voted against legislation to end U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia in theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[38]
Byrne has a history of supportinggun rights. He voted againstuniversal background check legislation for gun sales, and against a measure to grant law enforcement additional time to run background checks for gun sales.[38] In 2015, Byrne co-sponsored legislature to allow cross-state concealed carry.[50] In 2019, he hosted atown hall meeting at a gun store, three days after theDayton mass shooting, which killed 9 people. During the meeting, Byrne said thatred flag laws violate theSecond Amendment and are not effective.[51]
Byrne voted against the 2018First Step Act, a criminal justice reform measure.[38] TheNational Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) gave Byrne a 38% rating, describing him as having a "police-the-police stance" for his police-related legislation support.[52]
In 2015, Byrne was the chief sponsor of Republican legislation torepeal the Affordable Care Act.[53][54] In 2017, he promoted Republican proposals to dismantle the ACA,[55] and voted for a January 2017 budget resolution to repeal the ACA.[38] Byrne also voted for theAmerican Health Care Act, the Republican repeal-and-replace legislation, in May 2017.[38]
In 2015, Byrne co-sponsored a bill that would have limited transfer ofGuantanamo prisoners to the United States or other countries.[56]
In 2015, Byrne sponsored bills to ban the admission of anySyrian people into the United States.[57] Byrne supported PresidentDonald Trump's 2017executive order temporarily banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.[58]
During thefederal government shutdown of 2018–19, Byrne voted against proposals to fund the government without appropriations for aborder wall. He voted against legislation that sought to terminate anemergency declaration that diverted funds to the border wall and voted to sustain Trump's veto of the legislation.[38]
In the2017 Alabama Senate special election to replace U.S. SenatorJeff Sessions, who had vacated his seat upon being nominated and subsequently confirmed to the position ofU.S. Attorney General in theTrump administration, Byrne endorsed the Republican nominee,Roy Moore.[59] During the campaign, at leastnine women alleged that Moore had either sexually assaulted them or made inappropriate romantic or sexual advances toward them while he was an assistantdistrict attorney and the women were teenagers as young as 14, or while he was a lawyer and the women were clients.[60][61] Following the initial allegations, additional women alleged misconduct, including attempted rape of a 16-year-old.[62] Moore denied the allegations and his campaign and supporters began questioning the victims' motives and veracity and said they would mount an investigation of the women's motives.[63] Immediately after the allegations and instances of victim intimidation, numerous Republicans rescinded their endorsements of Moore,[64] but Byrne did not, nor did he condemn the Moore campaign's threats against his accusers or call on Moore to drop out of the race.[65][66][67] In response to Byrne's continuing support of Moore, Alabama's statewide newspaper groupAL.com began running editorial cartoons titled "I am Roy Moore" with a picture of Byrne and the caption "You condone it, you own it."[68]
In 2020, Byrne released acampaign ad criticizingThe Squad, then a group of four women members of the House of Representatives. In the commercial, he described one of the members,Ilhan Omar, as "cheapening9/11". In a voice-over in the commercial Byrne says, "The Squad attacking America. Dale fought for that right. I will not let them tear this country up."[11]
In 2010, Byrne signed theTaxpayer Protection Pledge, pledging that he would not introduce new taxes.[69] In 2017 he voted for theRepublican tax legislation,[38][70] saying that the bill's passage would "lead to greater economic growth, higher wages, and more jobs."[71][72]
Byrne voted for 2017 legislation to repeal somebanking regulations enacted as part of theDodd-Frank Act.[38] He voted against legislation to raise thefederal minimum wage to $15 per hour.[38]
Byrne supports building a newI-10 bridge across the Mobile Bay. He also wants to extend the Foley Beach Express to I-65.[73]
Byrne has touted his unwavering support forDonald Trump,[74] despite early criticism of Trump. In 2016, Byrne said that Trump should drop out of the presidential election after the release of theAccess Hollywood tapes. Just before the election, Byrne said he would vote for Trump.[40]
On October 23, 2019,Gary Palmer,Jim Jordan, Byrne and Brooks joined about two dozen other House Republicans in aggressively intruding upon aSensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) where Republican and Democratic congressional members[a] had been taking confidential testimony fromDeputy Assistant Secretary of DefenseLaura Cooper as part of theimpeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. Brooks had given an incendiary speech before joining the non-committee Republicans forcing their way into the hearing room, carrying electronic devices that are prohibited in SCIFs.[78][79][80] The disruption delayed Cooper's testimony by many hours.[79]House Homeland Security Committee ChairmanBennie Thompson wrote to theHouse Sergeant-at-Arms requesting that he take action regarding their "unprecedented breach of security". South Carolina Republican SenatorLindsey Graham admonished his House colleagues for making a "run on the SCIF," calling the stunt "nuts."[81][82]
Byrne voted against established procedures for theimpeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, and voted several times totable thearticles ofimpeachment.[38] In December 2019, he voted againstimpeaching Trump on charges ofabuse of power andobstruction of Congress in connection with theTrump-Ukraine scandal,[38] echoing Trump's rhetoric on impeachment.[83]
In a 2020 campaign advertisement, Byrne described athletes who knelt as part of theU.S. national anthem protests as "dishonoring our flag", with a photograph ofColin Kaepernick kneeling.[11]
In 2020, Byrne began advocating thatHuntsville, Alabama, serve as the headquarters for the newly createdUnited States Space Force. TheU.S. Space & Rocket Center is in Huntsville.[84]
Byrne supported a bill that would direct theU.S. Department of Justice to report to theUnited States Congress whenever anyfederal agency refrains from enforcing laws or regulations for any reason.[85] In the report, the government would have to explain why it had decided not to enforce that law.[86] Byrne accused the Obama administration of "making an end-run around Congress to achieve through administrative means what they cannot legislatively" and of selectively enforcing the law.[87] He introduced a bill to create a National Museum of Irish American History in 2017.[88] In 2019, Byrne introduced legislation to imposeterm limits on members of Congress.[89]
Byrne was a member of theUnited States Congressional International Conservation Caucus and theRepublican Study Committee.[90][91]
On February 20, 2019, Byrne announced his candidacy for the2020 United States Senate election in Alabama, challenging incumbentDemocraticU.S. SenatorDoug Jones. He accused Jones of not supporting "Alabama's interests and Alabama values" in his announcement speech.[9] Byrne was defeated in the first round of the Republican primary; he won districts near Mobile but did poorly elsewhere in the state.Tommy Tuberville andJeff Sessions advanced to the Republican primary runoff.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne | 137,349 | 27.89 | |
| Republican | Robert J. Bentley | 123,870 | 25.15 | |
| Republican | Tim James | 123,662 | 25.11 | |
| Republican | Roy Moore | 95,077 | 19.31 | |
| Republican | Bill Johnson | 8,350 | 1.70 | |
| Republican | Charles Taylor | 2,622 | 0.53 | |
| Republican | James Potts | 1,549 | 0.31 | |
| Total votes | 492,480 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert J. Bentley | 260,887 | 56.07 | |
| Republican | Bradley Byrne | 204,394 | 43.93 | |
| Total votes | 465,281 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne | 18,090 | 34.57% | |
| Republican | Dean Young | 12,011 | 22.95% | |
| Republican | Chad Fincher | 8,177 | 15.63% | |
| Republican | Quin Hillyer | 7,260 | 13.87% | |
| Republican | Wells Griffith | 5,758 | 11.00% | |
| Republican | Daniel Dyas | 391 | 0.75% | |
| Republican | Jessica James | 391 | 0.75% | |
| Republican | Sharon Powe | 184 | 0.35% | |
| Republican | David Thornton | 72 | 0.14% | |
| Total votes | 52,344 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne | 38,150 | 52.5% | |
| Republican | Dean Young | 34,534 | 47.5% | |
| Total votes | 72,684 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne | 36,042 | 71.0 | |
| Democratic | Burton LeFlore | 14,968 | 29.0 | |
| Total votes | 51,010 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne (incumbent) | 103,758 | 68.2 | |
| Democratic | Burton LeFlore | 48,278 | 31.7 | |
| Write-in | 198 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 152,234 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne (incumbent) | 71,310 | 60.1 | |
| Republican | Dean Young | 47,319 | 39.9 | |
| Total votes | 118,629 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne (incumbent) | 208,083 | 96.4 | |
| Write-in | 7,810 | 3.6 | ||
| Total votes | 215,893 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bradley Byrne (incumbent) | 153,228 | 63.2 | |
| Democratic | Robert Kennedy Jr. | 89,226 | 36.8 | |
| Write-in | 163 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 242,617 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tommy Tuberville | 239,616 | 33.39% | |
| Republican | Jeff Sessions | 227,088 | 31.64% | |
| Republican | Bradley Byrne | 178,627 | 24.89% | |
| Republican | Roy Moore | 51,377 | 7.16% | |
| Republican | Ruth Page Nelson | 7,200 | 1.00% | |
| Republican | Arnold Mooney | 7,149 | 1.00% | |
| Republican | Stanley Adair | 6,608 | 0.92% | |
| Total votes | 717,665 | 100.0% | ||
On May 26, 2022, the Mobile (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce announced Byrne would serve as the chief executive officer and president of the organization, effective June 1, 2022. Byrne is an attorney and currently serves as of counsel for Adams and Reese, LLP, a position he will retain while devoting his full-time efforts to the Mobile Chamber.[99]
Byrne's family has a farm inBaldwin County, Alabama. Byrne's wife is named Rebecca.[11][12] Byrne is a fan of theAlabama Crimson Tide.[12] He is anEpiscopalian,[100] and typically attends services atSt. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square while in Washington.[101]
Byrne's brother, Dale Byrne, died in 2013 during the 2013 election in which Bradley Byrne was participating. Dale Byrne died from aheart attack after suffering from a respiratory illness contracted while serving with theAlabama National Guard in Iraq.[11]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 1st congressional district 2013–2021 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
