Bobby Bright represented Alabama’s 2nd congressional district from 2009-2011 as a member of the Democratic Party.

But he’s now seeking the Republican Party’s nomination to regain the seat from U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, who has already drawn three other primary challengers in her bid for reelection.

“I tried to be a Democrat, and I didn’t do the job as a Democrat that I wanted to do,” Bright told reporters as he filed qualifying papers at the Alabama Republican Party Headquarters in Birmingham Thursday morning. “There’s a lot of good people in Alabama. They don’t really support people because of the labels. What they do is they support you because of your hard work.”

The details:

— Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District includes most of the Montgomery metropolitan area and stretches into the state’s southeastern wiregrass region.

— In 2008, Bright defeated Republican nominee Jay Love, 50.23% to 49.61%, and became the first Democrat to represent the conservative district since the mid 1960s.

— But by one measurement, Bright voted with the Democrat leadership in Congress about 73% of the time.

— Roby defeated Bright in the 2010 general election, 50.87% to 48.79%.

— Roby has won reelection ever since, and in 2016 her margin was 49% to the Democrat candidate’s 41%.

— Other candidates for the GOP nomination include State Rep. Barry Moore, former Roy Moore campaign manager Rich Hobson, and Tommy Amason, a command sergeant major in the U.S. Army Reserves.

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