An engineer working on NASA’s Space Launch System program will appear on the ballot as an independent in November’s general election against Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL). In a Facebook post yesterday, Mark Bray said the Alabama secretary of state certified the petitions his campaign submitted to appear on the ballot in the November general election for the state’s 5th Congressional district, which includes the city of Huntsville and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Bray, who works for Jacobs Engineering on the SLS program, announced his plans to run for the seat in February as an independent. Brooks easily won the Republican primary for the district last month and faces no Democratic opposition. While the seat remains “Solid Republican” in the latest Cook Political Report, Bray tells the Huntsville Times he is buoyed by Rep. Eric Cantor’s upset loss in the Republican primary in Virginia last month. “The message was clearly sent that if you are an incumbent with a large pot of money, you shouldn’t discount contenders,” Bray told the newspaper.
Looking at Bray’s issue statements, he’s really pretty undefined as a potential legislator. The main spin of his campaign seems to be “I’m not like them!”, which kinda leaves a lot to be determined. He’s also very pro-space but, for lack of any other substantive political commitment, he comes across as a mostly single-issue candidate (which, of course, actually might suit AL-5 just fine!) One would hope that Bray is not anywhere near as scientifically illiterate as Brooks, whose science expertise is allegedly political science.
Pure vanity. David Brat did it the right way, defeating Cantor in a primary. A third party candidate will just siphon off votes from the Republican, which no doubt is Bray’s only goal.
I don’t think there is a Democratic challenger to Brooks. So Bray doesn’t represent a “third party”. He represents “an other party”. He represents a choice, where it is looking like there would otherwise be none.
Yeah, I suppose that if Brooks ran uncontested the only way you could “siphon off votes” from him would be to kidnap people as they headed into their polling location.
I know Mark Bray. I have wished him luck publically as I have done several times privately. Running against any incumbent is an uphill battle regardless of party or non-party affiliation. Mark is a qualified NASA, Marshall engineer. Yet, Mark and I do not see eye to eye regarding the FAR and SAA’s, but if I was an Alabama 5th voter Mark would have my vote. He is no socialist Democrat by any stretch but he will get that vote, just because. Also Mark will score the anybody-but-incumbents vote. If I were Mo Brooks, I would not be looking at Mark Bray as a pesky gnat, but as a tenacious opponent.
Mark and I do not see eye to eye regarding the FAR and SAA’s
I presume, given Mr. Bray’s employer, that means he’s a partisan of wasteful and useless business as usual as long as he gets paid. No real improvement over Brooks that I can see, especially if you happen to be a U.S. taxpayer living beyond the borders of Alabama’s 5th Congressional District. Too bad they both can’t lose.
@Dick Just ask me what I am for…
http://www.brayforcongress.com/blog/7/op-ed-the-future-past-of-american-space
I am a problem solver and I won’t get bogged down in partisan nonsense. I have a proven record in the space industry of standing by facts and promoting the expansion of commercial and civilian uses of space. While space is important to defense, I believe we should be looking to have more commercial and civilian missions than defense missions and I look forward to the first truly private commercial profit table mission. That will change the industry forever and for the better.
On the broader issues, the economy is the driving problem and neither party has a plan to resolve it.
One wants to inflate our way out, the other wants austerity. A few want bankruptcy. I want to grow our way out which requires innovation and investment is a true free market environment not the crony capitalism of the last 70 years.