November 9, 2007

Birmingham, AL — The Alabama Republican Party has selected Ambassador Alan Keyes to be on the ballot for its Feb. 5, 2008, presidential primary.

This brings to seven the number of states in which Keyes has qualified to participate in the GOP selection process. Other states include California, Florida, New Hampshire, Georgia, West Virginia, and Utah.

Keyes — who served as Ronald Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations — said that his three top priorities as president would be "(1) restoring the sovereignty of the American people, including border security and enforcement of immigration law; (2) restoring respect for America's founding principles, beginning with the right to life; and (3) abolishing the federal income tax and replacing it with the FairTax."

The highest ranking African American in the Reagan administration, Keyes was a member of Reagan's National Security Council team, and also served as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, where — in his words — he "took strong stands against everything at the UN that assaulted our policies. . . . I was there, under Ronald Reagan, championing the battle against the UN's efforts to destroy our values, to destroy our alliances, to destroy our nation. I represented the interests of the United States at the United Nations for a president who understood those interests and was not afraid to defend them."

Reagan highly praised Keyes' role in his administration, saying, "As my Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, [Alan] opposed with every ounce of strength in [his] body all those who have served to foster and legitimatize state-sponsored terrorism. . . . Alan did such a wonderful job in our administration . . . defending our country against the forces of anti-Americanism."

Keyes holds a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on constitutional theory. In 1991, he served as interim president of Alabama A&M University. In recent years, Keyes has been active as a citizen leader on a broad range of issues important to conservatives, including defending public displays of the Ten Commandments, seeking to preserve the life of Terri Schindler Schiavo in Florida, arguing for protection of traditional marriage, and speaking out against abortion, which he calls "the most important moral issue facing our nation."

In the 2000 Republican presidential primaries, Keyes finished third behind George W. Bush and John McCain by championing the Reagan pro-life platform and calling for an end to the income tax. He was credited by many — including commentators at CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News — with winning the Republican debates.

In his first appearance in the 2008 presidential debates — the Values Voter Debate held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, three days after he announced Sept. 14 — Keyes came in third in a straw poll of all the GOP presidential candidates.

Additional information is available at the Keyes for President website, www.AlanKeyes.com