Alabama Senate profile: Michael Hansen seeks success on the left

Aug. 11--In a deep red state, Michael Hansen is running a pure blue campaign.

He endorses single-payer health care. He wants a renewed focus on fighting climate change, and calls a carbon tax "a great idea." Hansen calls for a graduated increase in the minimum wage, and says trade agreements should consider the rights of workers in this country and others.

If that agenda breaks with the mostly-centrist messages Alabama Democrats have tried in the past, that's by design.

"I am a Democrat, and I am tired of the Democrats losing in Alabama," Hansen said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I wanted to offer a different kind of candidacy and talk about progressive values and policy goals in an unapologetic and fearless manner."

Hansen's views aren't necessarily outliers in the Democratic race for Alabama's U.S. Senate seat. Former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, another Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has also called for an increase in the minimum wage, and Jones and business executive Robert Kennedy Jr., like Hansen, support LGBTQ and abortion rights and efforts to address climate change.

But Hansen may be more outspoken in embracing the left wing of the party than other Democrats. Jones and Kennedy are both cautious about single-payer, an increasingly popular idea within the party. Hansen fully embraces it.

"From my point of view, it's the best way to get all the inefficiencies and confusion out about pre- existing conditions and skyrocketing costs out of the equation," he said.

The candidate embraces a Medicare For All proposal that would gradually move the country in the direction of single payer. In the short-term, Hansen says, he supports the Affordable Care Act and ways to strengthen it, such as reinsurance methods for high-risk pools. He also supports a public option that would allow people to buy into Medicare plans, which he says would create competition in states like Alabama, where single insurers dominates the marketplace.

Hansen, the executive director of GASP, an environmental group based in Birmingham, also says he's "not running away from" the Environmental Protection Agency, and criticizes President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord and steps against climate research. Climate change, he said, is becoming a major issue for Alabama.

"We've got the wild weather patterns that are only going to get more unpredictable," he said. "Sea level rise, coastal erosion on Dauphin Island -- increases in temperatures lead to increases in heat, and poor air quality."

The carbon tax -- an idea embraced by environmentalists and some conservative economists who think it can allow cuts to more regressive taxes -- is one approach to addressing climate change, he said, but he said he's willing to listen to others.

"I see that as a market-based approach," he said. "I'm all ears as to how we can move the ball forward. It's not about fighting somebody."

Hansen also supports increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. He notes that Hugo Black, a U.S. senator from Alabama and U.S. Supreme Court justice, led efforts to establish the first national minimum wage in the 1930s.

"Look at the trends over the last 40 years, wages have been stagnant for the working class, for middle-income and low-income people," he said. "We're not able to build wealth and opportunity for our kids."

While a progressive platform may seem like a tough sell in a conservative state, Hansen said he can mount a campaign, and says he has experience with fundraising through GASP. But whether or not he wins, Hansen wants the Democratic Party in the state to be less afraid of moving to the left.

"The premise is that we should keep trying the same things over and over again, but we're going to get the same results," he said. "If we have the same kind of campaigns, we're never going to move the needle. Progressives need to come out of the closet and have honest conversations with their neighbors."

Name: Michael Hansen

Age: 35

Residence: Irondale

Party: Democratic

Profession: Executive director, GASP

Family: Single

Offices held/offices sought: First run for public office

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