He Will Not Run for Congress as Some Hoped

Alabama’s Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks says he is staying in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor and will not run in North Alabama’s 5th District against Rep. Parker Griffith, who infuriated Democrats last week when he announced his switch to the Republican Party.

Sparks said in a press conference this morning at the Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville that he was more committed to running for governor than ever and that he was in the governor’s race to stay.

Some Democrats in Washington and Montgomery had urged Sparks to change races after Griffith switched to the GOP. Sparks said he was honored by the interest, according to the AP, but feels he has made a commitment to the people of Alabama to run for governor.

Alabama Dems Betrayed by Parker Griffith’s Switch to GOP

Just more than a year ago, the people of North Alabama elected Parker Griffith to represent them in Congress. It was a hard fought campaign and Griffith won by a narrow margin, Sparks said in his remarks. Griffith was elected by Democrats, people who believed in democratic ideals. They sacrificed money, time and effort to put him in Congress.

“Now, only about a year later, he has abandoned the people and the values that put him in Congress, and has joined the very people who opposed him and did everything they could to defeat him just a short time ago,” Sparks said. “As a native of North Alabama, as a life-long Democrat, I want to publicly condemn Parker Griffith’s betrayal of trust.”

While Parker Griffith tries to blame the Democratic party for being “too liberal,” Sparks said, “he finds it easy to forget the politics and the people who put him in office.”

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