Conservatives should pay close attention to Alabama’s sixth congressional district.

The candidate to watch in this race is Dr. Chad Mathis.

Alabama’s sixth district is a solid red seat. Rep. Spencer Baucus, who is serving his eleventh term, will retire at the end of this term. So there’s every reason to expect a true Conservative can replace Baucus. Conservatives can’t afford another faux pas, debt raising Republican or a candidate with an affinity for foot in mouth disease that could cost Conservatives such a golden opportunity.

State Rep. Paul DeMarco, for one, has a litany of issues that makes him an albatross to Conservatives.

DeMarco repeatedly talks the talk, saying things like “anytime you’re asking for a tax increase you’re running into troubled waters.” But that hasn’t translated into action. DeMarco co-sponsored two tax hikes; one raising tobacco taxes on Jefferson County, Alabama, and the other enabling the county to levy taxes on beer and malt liquor.

Beyond that, DeMarco voted seven times for tax hikes that have cost Yellow Hammer State taxpayers almost $100 million. Repeated votes for higher “fees” have also sucked up millions more for the state government.

Worse, DeMarco also has an addiction to spending, which explains a lot of this. Twice he’s voted to up unemployment benefits (see, here and here); he also opposed an 11 percent spending cut to non-education spending and capping corporate welfare and has repeatedly Ok’d increasing the state’s debt.

He even wanted to bailout Jefferson County with dollars from all over Alabama after its local government filed for bankruptcy.

Not the sort of congresscritter we need.

Gary Palmer also talks a good game. He started the Alabama Policy Institute, a think-tank headquartered in the district. But his past advocacy is hardly conservative.

Palmer’s 2003, call for tax reform included musing “we will find that we do need to increase revenues.” His own reform plans called for hiking property taxes, actually going as far as saying that Alabama’s low property tax burden was somehow a bad thing. In an Obama-like move, Palmer also argued that higher income Alabamians should pay more.

All of which makes him a non-starter.

Then there’s Will Brooke. The money trail following him suggests he’s in the pocket of the DC establishment. Just this month the NRSCs deputy finance director was caught actively raising cash for Brooke’s campaign. A Senate Republican committee aide wading into a contested House primary for a safe Republican seat is something we just should not have to worry about.

Another candidate, state Senator Scott Beason, has pitched himself as a true conservative and Tea Party voice. We need to be very wary of him, though. He’s another Dean Young, better at shock value rhetoric than anything that advances the conservative cause. His penchant for embarrassing us is so great that Ken Blackwell directly pointed him out in a recent op-ed, saying we should steer clear of this humiliation in waiting.

Blackwell’s also on point when it comes to who Conservatives should be supporting in this race — Dr. Chad Mathis. He’s a physician, businessman, and first-time candidate for office, and he’s also someone that all manner Conservatives and Republicans can rally behind.

Mathis has seen first-hand what ObamaCare is doing to our economy and health care system. Unlike most liberals, and probably his opponents, he’s read the monstrous so-called Affordable Care Act in full. And Mathis has made it crystal-clear that he won’t waver in his fight to send ObamaCare to the scrap heap.

For all of these reasons, Mathis has the support of someone like Ken Blackwell. He’s also endorsed by RedState’s own Erick Erickson, FreedomWorks PAC, and the Madison Project. Reps. Andy Harris and Phil Roe, also physicians, are actively aiding his campaign and almost 100 Alabama physicians have offered their support as well.

In Congress, Chad Mathis’s voice will be a major asset to the Conservative movement. He’s one of us to be sure, and he won’t embarrass us either. It’s imperative we rally around his candidacy ahead of the June 3 primary, lest we be made to deal with another non-conservative Republican.