Jay Love
Encyclopedia
Jay K. Love, Jr. is a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Alabama House of Representatives
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...

, representing the 74th District since 2003. He represents part of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

.

Biography

Love was born in Montgomery and graduated from Auburn University Montgomery
Auburn University Montgomery
Auburn University at Montgomery is a coeducational public university located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. It is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees, but is not a branch campus of Auburn University. It was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967...

 with a degree in business administration. He acquired a Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...

 franchise in 1992, and eventually opened 16 restaurants in the Montgomery area before selling them in 2006.

In 2008, midway through his second term, Love ran for the open seat in after eight-term Republican Terry Everett
Terry Everett
Robert Terry Everett is an American politician, who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing ....

 announced his retirement. He finished first in a six candidate primary, winning 35% of the vote. His opponent in the primary run-off was Republican State Senator
Alabama Senate
The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...

 Harri Anne Smith
Harri Anne Smith
Senator Harri Anne Smith, a native of Slocomb, Alabama is a graduate of Slocomb High School and received her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Troy State University....

. Love went on to easily beat Smith in the run-off.

He faced Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Bobby Bright
Bobby Bright
Bobby Neal Bright, Sr. is an American politician who served as U.S. Representative for from 2009 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes just over half of the state capital, Montgomery, as well as most of the Wiregrass Region in the southeastern part of the state....

, the mayor of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

, in the general election. The race was very close, despite the 2nd's Republican voting history. It fell into Republican hands in Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...

's 1964 landslide, and Republicans hadn't let go since then. Ironically, both Love and Bright are deacons at First Baptist Church of Montgomery.

In the November election, Bright received 143,997 votes to Love's 142,231 votes—a margin of 1,766 votes, or just over 0.6 percentage points. While the two candidates each won eight of the district's 16 counties, Bright won the district's share of Montgomery County by 30 points. Love had the option of requesting a recount since the margin of victory was less than a point, but opted not to do so and conceded the seat to Bright. Jay has been married to his wife, Cheri, for 14 years and have four children: Rachel Louise, Addison Jay, Rebecca Faye, and Caroline Elizabeth. He is a deacon at First Baptist Church Montgomery which he shares with Bobby Bright.
In October 2008, former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, openly supported Love and came down to Dothan, Alabama for a fundraiser for Love.
.

Love did not have to give up his state House seat to run for Congress; Alabama state representatives serve four-year terms, and Love was not up for reelection again until 2010.

On April 21, 2009 Love introduced a resolution to the Alabama state legislature to praise
Miss USA 2009 finalist Carrie Prejean
Carrie Prejean
Caroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller is an American model, author, former Miss California USA 2009 and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean received national attention in 2009 when she told a pageant judge that marriage should be between a man and a woman; pageant judge and gossip blogger...

  for he claims truthfully answering a question by gay celeb blogger Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...

about same-sex marriage.
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