Roger Hugh Bedford Jr. (July 2, 1956 – October 10, 2023) was an

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lawyer and politician from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He was a Democratic member of the

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 number of districts across the state, with each district con ...

, where he represented the 6th District from 1994 to 2014. He previously served from 1982 to 1990.

Career

Bedford received his education at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, and his J.D. degree from

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

. He was a

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, and belonged to the

Alabama State Bar The Alabama State Bar is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama. Established in 1923, the association is governed by th1975 Alabama Code, Title 34, Chapter 3 It is the "licensing and regulatory agency for attor ...

, the Cattlemen's Association, the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. History and profile In 1927, an offshoot of the Boone and ...

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, Executive member of the

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, and the Greater Alabama Council. In 1996 Bedford was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, but was defeated by Republican

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

. On April 2, 2009, multiple sources reported Senator Bedford had received encouragement to run for the Democratic nomination for Alabama governor in 2010. He did not enter the race. Later that month, on April 30, 2009, Bedford inserted a " poison pill" into a Senate bill that would have made it easier for U.S. soldiers serving overseas to vote, thereby causing it to fail. The poison pill "would prohibit a federal candidate or officeholder from transferring funds to a state campaign for office" and was widely seen as an attempt at preventing

Artur Davis Artur Genestre Davis (; born October 9, 1967) is an American attorney and former politician who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2003 to 2011. He was also a ca ...

from transferring funds from his Congressional campaign to his state race for governor.

Personal life and death

Bedford was married to the former Maudie Darby from

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

, and they were the parents of one child. Bedford died from cancer at his home in Tuscaloosa, on October 10, 2023, at the age of 67.

References

External links

Project Vote Smart – Senator Roger Bedford, Jr. (AL)
profile * ''Follow the Money'' – Roger Bedford, Jr. *
200620021998
campaign contributions * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Roger Jr. 1956 births 2023 deaths Democratic Party Alabama state senators Place of birth missing 20th-century Alabama politicians University of Alabama alumni Cumberland School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Alabama Legislature Candidates in the 1996 United States elections