Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Sneed traveled to Memphis on Friday to join candidates, faith leaders and voting rights advocates calling for “fair representation in Congress, with every voter having an equal voice, and stronger protections against racial and partisan gerrymandering.”
Sneed, who faces Candice Dollar Duvieilh in Tuesday’s Democratic runoff for Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, participated in a gathering organized by Vote Common Good and Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson.
The event came in response to recent legal battles over congressional redistricting and voting rights protections. Organizers called for restoring and strengthening Voting Rights Act protections, creating a national independent redistricting commission, banning mid-decade congressional redistricting for partisan advantage, and increasing transparency in the redistricting process.
Sneed said the event aligns with a central theme of his campaign: ensuring voters feel heard by their elected representatives.
“The job description is in the title, but you can’t represent folks you don’t listen to,” Sneed said.
According to Sneed, the Memphis gathering was designed to help candidates and advocates develop legislative priorities and coalition-building strategies around voting rights and democratic reforms.
“We need to get back to representative government,” he said. “This Memphis coalition gathering is about how we move forward in this new political climate.”
Sneed argued that issues such as voting rights, congressional redistricting and public trust in government are directly connected to the economic and quality-of-life concerns voters discuss most often.
“Yes, economy, yes, kitchen table issues, yes, healthcare,” he said. “But the reason that they’re broken, I think, is because we’re not addressing these deeper issues that have politically and literally disenfranchised people.”
The Huntsville small business owner said he sees a growing movement among Democratic candidates nationwide focused on government reform and coalition building rather than partisan conflict.
Among the reforms he supports are congressional term limits, restrictions on stock trading by members of Congress, changes to lobbying rules and an enforceable ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We can only get things done together if we’re united around these common causes,” Sneed said.
Sneed also pointed to turnout in the May Democratic primary as evidence that voters are seeking a different political approach.
The Democratic congressional candidate said “the nearly 50,000 voters” participating in the Democratic primary across the district, signifies something big.
“What it says overwhelmingly is people are ready for change,” Sneed said.
The June 16 runoff will determine which Democrat advances to face Republican U.S. Rep. Dale Strong in the Nov. 3 general election.
Alabama’s 5th Congressional District remains a strongly Republican seat. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, the district carries an R+15 rating, meaning it has voted significantly more Republican than the national average in recent presidential elections.
Republican officials have attributed lower GOP turnout in the May primary in part to the lack of contested races. Strong, Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner and several other Republican incumbents were unopposed on the primary ballot in Madison County.
While acknowledging the challenge ahead, Sneed said he believes Alabama’s 5th District can become a model for a less divisive style of politics.
“We have an opportunity in the 5th Congressional District of Alabama,” he said. “We should set a new tone for pushing away from the politics of division and showing that we’re about the work, we’re about business, we’re serious, we’re not going to be played like this.”
Sneed said the district’s engineering, technology and defense workforce has long been known for solving difficult problems, and he believes that mindset can extend into politics as well.
“We fix stuff, we lead the way, we send people to the moon,” Sneed said. “I think it’s time for a new moonshot, but it’s a political moonshot.”
