Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong on Tuesday announced that he has raised over $300,000 from more than 200 donors to strongly kickoff his Republican candidacy in Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District.
The impressive fundraising haul covered six weeks of campaigning following Strong’s entry into the race at the end of March. With over a month remaining before the federal reporting quarter ends on June 30, the Monrovia native is rapidly on pace to break the initial quarter fundraising record for an Alabama congressional candidate of $395,000.
The announcement of Strong’s early fundraising strength comes the day after he held a campaign kickoff which featured an invitation host list of about 400 names from across the North Alabama district.
That host list included many of the area’s biggest power players, fundraisers and influencers, including Linda Maynor, Joe Ritch, Frank Collazo, Bill Roark, Carl Gessler, Britt Sexton, and Phil and Lisa Williams. Additionally, the list featured several mayors from across the district such as Jim McCamy of Scottsboro, Madison Mayor Paul Finley, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling and Rogersville Mayor Richard Herston.
While neither organization has made an endorsement in the race, the list also included Rex Vaughn, the Alabama Farmers Federation north area vice president, as well as Business Council of Alabama executive committee member Rey Almodóvar and BCA board members Richard Amos and Carter Wells.
Highlighting the importance of NASA and the defense sector on the local economy, the host list included former Redstone Arsenal Commanding General Al Sullivan, former Marshall Space Flight Center Director Partick Scheuermann and retired Lt. General Tony Jones, who served for several years as the vice president for Huntsville Site Operations for the Boeing Company.
The campaign kickoff event was held at the Jackson Center on the campus of the Hudson Alpha Institute, and co-founder Jim Hudson was listed as a host as well.
“I am honored and overwhelmed by the support that has been shown for my campaign,” Strong stated. “This support shows that people across North Alabama recognize that we need a true Christian conservative in Washington to stand up to Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and put Republicans in control of Congress. I am a proven leader and will fight every day to protect our values, increase funding for our military and support our front-line law enforcement officers.”
Strong has a long record of service in the Tennessee Valley, first as a longtime volunteer firefighter/medic and for the past 16 years on the county commission.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
