Get to know Marcus Bowman, Republican challenger to Richard Shelby

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Marcus Bowman for Senate Alabama

Among the candidates going head-to-head with Alabama U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby in the upcoming election is Marcus Bowman, a Fairhope Republican with ties to Washington, D.C., and experience in writing legislation on various issues.

Bowman was raised in a suburb of Chicago and attended Iowa State University where he majored in Finance and Economics, eventually making his way to George Mason University where he earned his master’s degree in Public Policy.

From there, Bowman took a job with the International Access Corp. (IAC) in D.C. where he worked for eight years on issues concerning transportation and energy, often tasked with writing legislation and attending various congressional hearings.

In 2011, Bowman met his second wife who had family in Fairhope. About the same time, Bowman’s contract with the IAC expired and he and his fiancee decided to start over in Fairhope, where he had secured a job with a furniture manufacturing company.

Bowman and his second wife were married in 2013 and, about that time the job in Fairhope fell through and Bowman began attending “transportation-related meetings.” He eventually became chairman of the Baldwin County Young Republicans, which put him in close contact with the county’s Republican Party officials.

“I have never missed Washington, D.C., for a day,” Bowman said. “But various things started pulling me back into politics.”

“It’s time for some fresh energy in Washington, D.C.,” Bowman said. “I’m frustrated, the people are frustrated and I think I’ve got what it takes.”

Unlike many of his competitors, whose campaigns are funded by big donors and special interests, Bowman hangs his hat on the fact that his campaign has taken in only $2,000 from “friends-of-the-family” contributions.

A fiscal and moral conservative, Bowman’s biggest concerns center on the Tenth Amendment and the current state of the economy.

Bowman noted that reinvigorating the Tenth Amendment, which provides for states’ rights, would alleviate a lot of the current problems the country is facing, specifically as it pertains to marriage equality.

“The Supreme Court kind of overstepped its bounds, I just don’t think that’s an issue the Supreme Court should be involved in,” Bowman said. “If we return to the Tenth Amendment, and let states make decisions on a whole host of issues, things would be a lot better for everyone.”

When it comes to the economy, Bowman has a myriad of ideas aimed at increasing household incomes and the scourge of underemployment, as well as ways to make the Federal Reserve more effective.

“We need changes in our economy,” Bowman said. “This federal reserve approach has not worked. I don’t necessarily think we need huge changes in America, I want to see us address problems in a ‘1,000 little fixes’ approach.”

On his website, Bowman has a policy paper detailing ways that the Federal Reserve can become more effective and help American citizens suffering under wage stagnation, underemployment, and other economic woes.

Though Bowman recognizes the need for higher wages for America’s workers, he does not think an increase in the federal minimum wage is the way to go.

“Business needs a lot more freedom,” Bowman said. “I absolutely want to see incomes going up, but raising the minimum wage is not the way to achieve that.”

With his experience in the halls of Congress, writing legislation and sitting before various hearings on transportation and energy policy, and his willingness to work with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Bowman says he’s a candidate “that’s going to represent everybody” and is poised for an upset against the longstanding Shelby.

“Washington, D.C., is broken, everybody knows it but no one’s doing anything about it,” Bowman said. “I want to focus my campaign on solutions, I want to be that David that takes down Goliath.”

This part is part of our ongoing “Get to know” series spotlighting the various candidates in the 2016 Senate race. Click here to get to know the other candidates we’ve highlighted thus far.

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