Posted on 07/01/2002 12:00:58 PM PDT by Bamapolitics
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GOP's Engel to challenge Rep. Cramer in November
6/05/02
From Staff Reports
Bud Cramer's Republican opponent for Congress in November will be aerospace engineer Stephen Engel of Athens.
In a quiet race between two political unknowns, Engel got about 56 percent of the vote Tuesday to defeat Michael Williams, a graduate student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Cramer, a Huntsville Democrat, has held the 5th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990. After strong early challenges, he has lately drawn only token opposition; this will be the first time since 1998 that he's had a Republican opponent.
Engel said he will speak before as many small, conservative groups as possible in his campaign.
''You go with the ideology,'' he said. ''People either buy into it, or they don't."
Williams couldn't be reached for comment on the results of the race. ''If they come in too late at night, I'm probably going to go to sleep,'' he said earlier in the day.
Complete but unofficial results had Engel with 13,968 votes to Williams' 11,068.
THE HUNTSVILLE TIMES
Stephen Engel bases his House campaign on U.S. Constitution
03/27/02
From Staff Reports
An Athens man hopes to win the Republican nod to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer this fall on a platform based on the U.S. Constitution's preamble.
"I believe this country was founded on principles that are embodied in the Constitution, and we should still be following those principles in our system of government," said Stephen Engel, a field engineer for major defense contractor Northrop Grumman.
Engel, 50, said his campaign will center on the four areas the Constitution's preamble lists as the fundamental roles of government:
Establish justice - "The greatest injustice perpetrated on the citizens of the United States since the founding of the country is the murder of the innocent via state-sanctioned abortion," Engel said. "Therefore, I am pro-life."
Ensure domestic tranquility - "This includes our police force," Engel said, "but must be augmented by the citizens protecting themselves and their families from those who would wish to harm them, both criminal, and tyrannical.
''This translates as being pro-gun, or pro-Second Amendment."
Provide for the common defense - "I believe our military should be prepared for both conventional and nuclear war," said Engel, who supports developing a national missile defense system.
Promote the general welfare - "Taxes are too high, placing an unfair burden on families," Engel said, and the nation's schools are being controlled by those "who believe it is wrong to mention God or the Ten Commandments in the schools, but it is OK to promote and teach the homosexual and lesbian agenda."
Engel was born in McAllen, Texas. The son of missionaries, he lived in southern Mexico until entering high school. After a year at Columbia Bible College, Engel enlisted in the Air Force in 1971 and served until 1978. Engel attended Capitol Institute of Technology in Kensington, Md., and technical schools while in the military, where he specialized in radar.
He was the Alabama communications coordinator for GOP presidential candidate Alan Keyes in 2000 and participated in the pro-life march in Washington on the 25th anniversary of the Roe vs Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in 1998.
Engel and his wife, Maria, have two daughters.
Two other Republicans, Michael Williams of Gurley and Matthew Boenker of Huntsville, have announced their candidacies for the June 4 GOP primary for the 5th Congressional District seat.
Cramer, of Huntsville, is seeking his seventh term. Thus far, he has no Democratic opposition.
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