U.S. congressional candidate Lee McInnis holds open town hall

U.S. House 3rd District candidate Lee McInnis held an open town hall meeting with voters to address issues around the economy, healthcare, education, veterans and farmers on Nov. 19. Attendees were encouraged to bring non-perishable food to donate to the food bank.

Speakers

The meeting opened with three speakers: Veronica Ayala with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ), Frederick Smith, chair for the Communications Workers of America’s (CWA) National Committee on Civil Rights and Equity, and Hazel Floyd, a candidate running for District 38 of Alabama’s House of Representatives. Ayala spoke about the concerns of immigrants with recent ICE raids and fears of losing family members.

Smith, who also assists the United Campus Workers with organizing, repeated the connections between politics and labor, especially with unionization. Floyd, a 21-year-old and recent University of Alabama graduate, spoke about feeling the need to be voice for constituents.

Lee McInnis’s speech

After the final speaker, McInnis began his speech with thanking the people who work on his campaign, his wife and the speakers. He also encouraged attendees to record and share videos of the event, mentioning that they ought to tag him along with conservative commentators like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

”I want them to know we’ve started a movement here in east Alabama,” McInnis said.

McInnis launched right into the issues facing 3rd District residents, starting with immigration and current enforcement, which he called “illegal, unconstitutional and inhumane.” Then, Mcinnis transitioned to speaking about labor issues and the need to mobilize voters, especially young voters.

“Sixteen years of single party rule in the state of Alabama is enough,” said McInnis, referring to the state’s heavy Republican lean.

Throughout his speech, McInnis repeatedly criticized current U.S. House Representative Mike Rogers of 3rd District for failing to speak with constituents, specifically citing Rogers’s refusal to attend requested town hall meetings. In fact, McInnis’s experiences with a past attempt to hold a town hall with Rogers via Indivisible Alabama, a progressive grassroots organization, informed one of his campaign slogans: “Where is Mike Rogers?”

As he spoke about the many problems with healthcare that rural areas face, McInnis also condemned Rogers’s decision to vote for the “Big Beautiful Bill” and to allow Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire. According to McInnis, these decisions will lead to over 500,000 Alabamians’ health insurance doubling or even tripling. He also explained that veterans will likely struggle even more since they often have service-related health issues and typically get their healthcare through the government.

McInnis also spoke about rising inequality in wealth and education, stating that there are issues with billionaires paying lower percentages on income tax than the middle class along with children receiving worse education with greater fears of school shootings.

Again, McInnis voiced the slogan: “Where is Mike Rogers?”

Before entering the Q&A portion of the town hall, McInnis spoke about issues with the economy, specifically with the struggles of farmers. According to McInnis, Alabama’s three main crops of peanuts, cotton and soybeans either sell at a deficit or just breaking even due to tariffs and the resulting loss in export contracts. Because of this, farmers are at a huge risk of losing their livelihoods.

“If you run a farm in this country, you don’t have a whole lot of financial reserves to fall back on,” McInnis said. “One bad year, and you’re done.”

Q&A section

During the question and answer section, voters asked McInnis about his position on a variety of subjects, from the legislation he would pass and gun control to getting money out of politics and supporting unionization.

McInnis promised voters that he would try to overturn the Big Beautiful Bill and make it illegal for members of Congress to own individual stocks. He also pledged to create red flag laws and ban assault weapons.

McInnis maintained a strong pro-union stance, standing that he would preserve the National Labor Relations Board and support unionization.

In terms of Alabama-specific issues, McInnis promised to write the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about the status of a Department of Justice lawsuit regarding alleged serve abuses and illegal practices by the Alabama Department of Corrections.

One question that McInnis spent much time on was whether he believed that the Trump administration planned to undermine the Constitution and implement a fascist state by eliminating laws and regulations. Although he takes many issues with the president’s policies and actions, McInnis hesitated to call him a fascist from both a personal and political standpoint.

“I hesitate to call someone I don’t know a fascist,” McInnis said, adding later that trying to run against Trump instead of for the people “didn’t work out very well.”

In the end, McInnis believes that it is his job to focus on and represent the constituents of the district.

Throughout the event, McInnis continuously stressed his role as a representative for all 3rd District residents, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents. He believes that his campaign should be welcoming and not run on “fear and hate and division.”

“These are our neighbors, these are our friends, these are people we live with,” said McInnis, paraphrasing Graham Platner, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Maine. “And they got conned. If your neighbor got robbed, you wouldn’t look at them and say, ‘I told you so,’ you’d look at them and say, ‘How can I help?’”

At the end of the town hall meeting, McInnis reflected on his hopes for the future, stating that he believes 2026 will be “a hell of a good race” for the Democrats.

“You deserve better, so we’re going to do better,” McInnis concluded.

At the end of the event, attendees clapped and cheered, with several rising for a standing ovation.

As of Nov. 20, 2025, McInnis is currently the only Democrat running in the 2026 race for Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District.