Shelby County Young Republicans Host Chen, Hudson in Helena

A sizable crowd of Shelby County Young Republicans, bolstered by guests from other Young Republican groups, met in Helena Thursday evening to hear Alabama State Auditor candidate Derek Chen and U.S. Senate candidate Jared Hudson speak.

Chen opened the evening’s presentations by saying he is the American-born child of legal immigrants from Taiwan. He realized at an early age that he couldn’t live in liberal California, came to Alabama to attend Cumberland School of Law, and fell in love with the State. He also has an MBA from the University of Alabama, and has practiced law in Jefferson County for several years.

Chen told how in 2015, during then-candidate Trump’s “elevator speech” he realized Donald Trump was the only candidate who clearly spoke to the issue of illegal immigration and the southern border. “The first time I voted was for Donald Trump in 2016,” Chen said.

When the Auditor position became an open seat, Chen said that “because of my law and business background, I thought I’d be a good fit.” He reminded the crowd that the Auditor actually isn’t in charge of auditing the State books, but audits the physical property of the State valued at $500 or more—desks, computers and such.

Chen emphasized that a very important duty of the Auditor is to appoint Registrars in 66 of Alabama’s 67 Counties (Jefferson being the sole exception, for historical reasons) because “the Registrars are the ONLY people who can legally add or remove people to the voters rolls.”

“I want to make sure that we have Registrars who understand election integrity and understand only U.S. citizens should ever be allowed to vote,” Chen said, “because election integrity is the cornerstone of our constitutional republic.”

During the question period, Chen was asked if he would support legislation to involve the Auditor’s office in election audits. He answered, “that would be a legislative issue”, and as Auditor, he would follow the law as passed by the legislature.

Jared Hudson, who is running for U.S. Senate, began by saying “the first thing you need to know about Jared Hudson is that I’m a Christian, because that’s the only thing about Jared Hudson that’s eternal.” The second thing to know about him is that he’s an Alabama family man. “I’m a husband and a father, and I’m raising my three girls in the Great State of Alabama.” He spoke about how, as a father, he’s concerned about “what I leave behind for my girls,” and that is a large part of his motivation to run for office.

Hudson went on to discuss the third thing to know about him—his history of fighting child exploitation. Hudson is the co-founder and CEO of Covenant Rescue Group, which both conducts anti-trafficking operations and trains law enforcement officials in conducting these operations. A former Navy SEAL and sniper, Hudson and his team at Covenant share their expertise and training with LEOs with effective tactics for these operations, especially when  women and children are being trafficked.

The fourth thing Hudson spoke about was a willingness to serve regardless of the cost. “If you can’t elect somebody who’s willing to give their life for this country and the people of Alabama, you don’t need to elect them,” he said.

“The purpose of a Senator is to step out and serve on behalf of the people,” Hudson said. “The Senate is a force-multiplier, and I can go to Washington and be a real warrior for this State and the people of Alabama.”

In terms of his platform, he commented that “every politician is going to ‘stand with Trump,’ but what does that mean?” To Hudson, it means that “the days of rule by Executive Order have to end. We have to codify Trump’s orders because he’s not going to be around forever.”

Hudson said that a priority for him was going to be taking care of our Veterans and our workers. “America is the arsenal of democracy, and Alabama is the arsenal of America,” he pointed out, giving special mention to the defense industries in and around Huntsville.

“About 10% of Alabama’s population is Veterans. Maybe another 10% to 15% are law enforcement. They need to know that Jared Hudson will have their back.”

In terms of tax policy, Hudson said that he is against high taxes, especially when the government is “taking your money, and you’re not getting anything for your money.” He is against “government putting its finger on the scale,” and that for most things “we need to get the federal government out of it as much as possible.”

Hudson then went on to discuss the three main areas where he feels the government has a duty: national security, national defense and infrastructure. He emphasized how Mobile now has the deepest container port on the Gulf of America, and with the recent purchase of the Alabama shipyards by the Navy, the new Bridge and Bayway are critically important. Hudson spoke about how the Bridge needs to be tall enough not only for large cargo ships, but also for Navy vessels to pass. This project will also relieve the bottleneck on I-10 that hampers both Alabama’s and the nation’s economy.

Another important infrastructure project Hudson mentioned was the widening of I-65, which the audience responded to particularly well.

Hudson was asked about stock trading by elected officials, to which he answered, “I don’t even trade stocks now,” but, “I would be for a stock trading ban on Senators and Congressmen.”

The meeting closed with a reminder that the Shelby County Young Republicans will be hosting a joint Steel Challenge (shooting match) fundraiser with the St. Clair County Young Republicans at Brock's Gap Training Center in Pell City. The groups are currently seeking sponsors and competitors (both amateur and professional) for this event.

For more information on the group or the Steel Challenge, follow the Shelby County Young Republicans on Facebook.

To learn more about Derek Chen and his campaign, follow him on Facebook.

For more information on Jared Hudson, visit his campaign website HudsonForAlabama.com or follow him on social media.