U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) has defeated three primary challengers to hold on to his party's nomination for his seat.

Bachus is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and received support in his campaign from CULAC, CUNA's political action committee.

Media outlets reported that with more than 90% of the district's precincts reporting results from Tuesday's balloting, Bachus was ahead with between 59% and 60% of the vote compared to 27% for his nearest challenger, Scott Beason, a state legislator most well known for his role in crafting Alabama's law against illegal immigration.

Bachus struggled with a number of different issues, including funding for his opponents from an anti-incumbent PAC and an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics into whether he used his office for personal gain. Bachus has denied this

Bachus has been known for saying good things about credit unions but has not sponsored the effort to raise the cap on member business loans. That did not prevent CULAC from spending at least $28,000 primarily on radio ads in support of Bachus.

“Representative Bachus has shown that he understands credit unions, the needs of credit unions and credit union issues,” explained Richard Gose, CUNA's senior vice president for political affairs, noting that his lack of endorsing MBL legislation didn't necessarily mean anything about his support for credit union issues.

“Not everyone who endorses a CU bill is a friend and not everyone who does not endorse a CU bill is an enemy,” Gose added.

Bachus, who has been the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee since last January, has already announced he will step down from the post at the end of the year. He said he won't seek a waiver of the House Republicans' rule limiting someone to a total of six years as chairman or ranking member of a committee.

Instant Insights /

CUNA-Backed Bachus Fends Off Alabama Primary Challengers

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