Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, announced Friday that he will not seek a third term in the Alabama Senate, stoking speculation that he may run for congress in Alabama’s Sixth District, as he did previously in 2012.
Beason has been a conservative lightning rod in the legislature in recent years. He led the charge on Alabama’s toughest-in-the-nation immigration law, as well as the recent push to repeal Common Core.
“It has not always been comfortable or easy,” Beason said in a statement. “Enemies accumulate when you stand for something, but there is a huge difference between support and leadership. In Alabama, almost everyone running for office ‘supports’ a conservative agenda. The hard part is actually leading on those issues after taking office and when the arrows are coming from all sides.”
Sen. Beason cited “personal convictions” as his reason for stepping down.
“It is time for this chapter in my life to come to a close, and it is such a strange feeling,” he said. “I have been in a hard fought campaign every four years since 1994. When I first ran for the legislature I was 24 years old, and now 20 years later when I finally have the chance to run without opposition, I feel led to step away. It almost doesn’t seem real.”
Despite his decision to leave the State Senate, Beason was clear he plans to remain active promoting conservative principles. However, it’s unclear if that means he is considering running for Congress.
“I plan to continue to be a voice for the time tested principles that have long made this country great: a belief in hard work and ingenuity, a commitment to Christian values, and a firm faith in our Constitution as the means by which liberty, opportunity, and prosperity can be ensured,” Beason said. “All of us, whether we are in elected office or not, must do our part to preserve the blessings that were passed down to us.”
Beason was first elected to the Alabama State House in 1998 and was then elected to the State Senate in 2006. Along with his wife Lori and three children, he resides in Gardendale, AL.
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