On Monday, I was happy to recognize Pike County Circuit Clerk Jamie Scarbrough as a Rising Republican Star for the Alabama Republican Party. Jamie is a great example of what a public servant should be and she shares the values of the people in Pike County.

Jamie Scarbrough has served the people of Pike County well as their Circuit Clerk, and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so when she is re-elected in November. Back in 2011, the Alabama Republican Party began an aggressive candidate recruitment effort, called Foundation for our Future, which focused on seeking out respected individuals, who are fiscally conservative and stand for traditional Alabama values, such as Jamie. She was one of more than 750 individuals across Alabama who qualified to seek public office as a Republican, making 2012 the first year in state history that more Republican candidates ran for office than Democrats.

And speaking of Democrats, I want to say that today’s Democratic Party is pretty different from the one our granddaddies knew. For the people out there that say there is a difference between President Obama and local Democrats, I respectfully disagree. Did you know that each individual who decided to run as a Democrat signed a document certifying that they support the principles of the Democratic Party? Those principles include taxpayer funded abortions through ObamaCare, support for gay marriage, an assault on our second amendment rights and the redistribution of our income. Where is the difference when local Democrats sign their name to a document that says they believe the same things as Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi?

The citizens of Pike County should think long and hard about these facts when they cast their vote for Mitt Romney, Martha Roby, Roy Moore and Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh in November. It is my hope they will continue to support the full Republican slate and vote to re-elect Jamie Scarbrough for Circuit Clerk in Pike County.

Bill Armistead

Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party