The National Federation of Independent Business of Alabama’s political action committee endorsed Republican nominee Corey Hill for Alabama commissioner of agriculture and industries on Tuesday.
NFIB State Director Rosemary Elebash cited Hill’s NFIB membership and background as a farmer and small-business owner in a written statement.
“Family farms are small businesses, and they face many of the same challenges as the stores and other businesses that serve our communities,” Elebash said. “Corey Hill is a member of NFIB, and he understands those challenges because he deals with them himself, both on his family’s farm and in his grocery store. He would bring practical experience and a small business perspective to the Department of Agriculture and Industries.”
Hill, the mayor of Douglas, Alabama, raises cattle and poultry on his fourth-generation family farm and operates a grocery store.
NFIB Alabama described its PAC’s endorsement as based on the candidate’s background in food production and the grocery business, alongside his experience as mayor.
“Corey understands agriculture from the farm to the grocery aisle,” Elebash said. “He knows how decisions in Montgomery affect the people who grow our food and run our local businesses. His experience as a farmer, small business operator, and mayor prepares him well to serve as commissioner of agriculture and industries.”
“It is an incredible honor to be endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business,” Hill told APR in a statement Tuesday. “As a small business owner myself, I know how important it is to cut red tape, eliminate unnecessary burdensome regulations and promote small businesses that are the backbone of our state and our nation.”
Hill will face Democratic nominee Ron Sparks, who previously served as the state’s agriculture commissioner from 2003 to 2011.
Alongside NFIB Alabama’s PAC, Hill’s campaign has been endorsed by ALFA’s Farm PAC and the Alabama Grocers Association.
Sparks, meanwhile, has been endorsed by Republican and former Alabama Attorney General Troy King, former Alabama Farmers Cooperative CEO Tommy Paulk and Teddy Gentry, a farmer and founding member of the country music group Alabama.
