About
Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) has served Alabama’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2015 and has chaired the House Republican Policy Committee since 2019. He ran for reelection in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement and won in his solidly Republican district.
Prior to serving in Congress, Palmer had no previous experience in elected office, but he founded and directed the Alabama Policy Institute (API) for over 25 years. API is tied to the Koch-funded, right-wing think tanks known as the State Policy Network (SPN) as well as the powerful corporate bill mill, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In fall 2019, API sent six employees—including COO Carl Jones—to the annual SPN meeting held in Colorado Springs, CO. It also hosted writers from the ALEC-connected Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which screens potential reporters on their “free market” views as part of the job application process.
After the 2020 presidential election, Palmer adhered to the GOP playbook by spreading the Big Lie and casting doubt on the legitimacy of Biden’s victory. He objected to certifying the Electoral College results and voted against both impeaching Trump for inciting the mob and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures.
In August 2022, after the FBI seized sensitive government documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound, Palmer expressed outrage. “This unprecedented search and seizure at the residence of a former President of the United States shows a clear double standard by those leading the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” he tweeted. The DOJ investigation proves that “we live in a two-tiered justice system where evidence of wrongdoing doesn’t matter,” he added, “only your political beliefs.”
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Palmer joined 146 other congressional Republicans in refusing to certify Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election.
- Despite condemning the violence of the attack on Congress and the Capitol and initially stating that Trump was responsible, Palmer voted against impeachment, claiming it would only “intensify division and anger.”
- Palmer voted against establishing a House committee to investigate the genesis of the violent assault that disrupted the congressional proceedings underway that day.
The Big Lie
- On Dec. 10, 2020, Palmer signed an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the presidential election in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
- In justifying his vote against certifying President Biden’s 2020 Electoral College win, Palmer released a joint statement with more that 60 congressional Republicans that read, in part: “In more than one state, unconstitutional changes were made to elections laws that affected the outcome of the election. Perhaps most concerning is that today, millions of people have no confidence in this election’s outcome or its process. Instead of ignoring these concerns, we should thoroughly examine them so that Americans’ faith in their election systems can be restored.”
- Despite his professed concern about restoring faith in the fairness of America’s elections, in September 2022 Palmer joined all but nine House Republicans in voting against the Presidential Election Reform Act meant to safeguard the process of selecting and verifying state electors and ensure the peaceful transition of power from one presidential administration to the next.
Top contributors for the 2024 election cycle.
The organizations themselves did not donate, rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families.
| Organization Name | Total | PACs | Individuals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ard Contracting | $29,900.00 | $0.00 | $29,900.00 |
| Brasfield & Gorrie | $18,300.00 | $0.00 | $18,300.00 |
| Drummond Co | $15,600.00 | $5,000.00 | $10,600.00 |
| Wellborn Cabinet | $13,500.00 | $0.00 | $13,500.00 |
| Protective Life Corp | $13,300.00 | $10,000.00 | $3,300.00 |
| Aaa Cooper Transportation | $13,200.00 | $0.00 | $13,200.00 |
| Cook's Pest Control | $13,200.00 | $0.00 | $13,200.00 |
| Dominion Partners | $13,200.00 | $0.00 | $13,200.00 |
| Elcan & Assoc | $13,200.00 | $0.00 | $13,200.00 |
| Hammer Lgc | $13,200.00 | $0.00 | $13,200.00 |