Vimal Patel says the Great Recession of more than a decade ago taught him how to sustain his family businesses during lean times, skills that the 39-year-old Auburn University graduate believes would make him a problem-solver in Washington.

Patel manages his family’s hotels in Troy, Montgomery, and Dothan and a laundromat in Eufaula. He said the job requires many hours behind the wheel of his 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe and constant attention to the stream of messages on his phone.

“The whole goal is communication,” Patel said. “I have about 60 employees. I tell them I want to hear from them. And if they have issues going on, I want to know what they are. I’m like a problem sponge, and you throw everything you’ve got at me. Because that’s how I can make a difference.

“I prefer text messages. So, I get texts all the time about random things. And that’s my job. My job is to fix stuff.”

Patel is one of 13 candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District, which spans south Alabama and includes Montgomery County and a portion of Mobile County. There are eight Republicans running.

Candidates flocked to the race after a federal court approved a new map that changed the 2nd District from safely Republican to one where a Democrat can win. The primary is March 5.

Read more: Who’s running? 21 candidates join race in Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District

Patel lives in apartment built into one of the family hotels in Troy. He is married and has an 11-year-old daughter. He shares his home and office with his father, Pravin Patel, who built three of the hotels.

Patel’s family immigrated from India in 1980. The first one in his family born in America, Vimal Patel graduated from Charles Henderson High School in Troy and earned a political science degree from Auburn in 2007.

He said he assumed management responsibilities for the family businesses around 2009 to 2010, a time when the recession and its aftermath was squeezing the economy in Alabama and across the nation.

Patel said he does not want to brag but believes that made him able to handle most any circumstance when it comes to business.

“The recession back then is still imprinted into my head,” Patel said. “When we talk about how to manage a business, I still manage it in a way that worked through the recession.

“It makes you lean. It makes you smarter. It makes you know how to run things. So, I don’t meet a lot of people that intimidate me when it comes to numbers and how to manage things.”

Patel said he believes the business skills would make him effective in Congress and help tackle issues like the federal deficit and the long-range outlook for Social Security. He said those in Washington have responded to those foundational problems with complacency.

“That’s ridiculous, for us to know the Titanic’s hitting the iceberg and to say that we’re just going let two political parties take us right into it,” Patel said.

“The real issue is, what kind of changes need to take place to keep it solvent,” Patel said. “Right now, you’re just having people throw up bullets in the air. You’re going to want to elect people who have numbers in mind, who know how to do those things. You cannot spend money that you don’t have.”

Patel ran for the 2nd District seat in 2022, losing in the Democratic primary to Phyllis Harvey-Hall, who is also running again this time.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, defeated Harvey-Hall to win his second term. But the new map moved Moore’s hometown into the 1st District, where Moore is challenging Rep. Jerry Carl, R-Mobile, leaving the 2nd District with no incumbent.

Patel said he has always leaned toward a Democratic viewpoint on certain issues. Patel supported the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress under former President Obama and says its emphasis on preventive healthcare was commonsense.

Patel disagrees with Republican candidates for Congress who call for abolishing the federal Department of Education. He said he thinks he knows why, but said the answer is to fix it, not eliminate it.

“I understand where they’re coming from,” Patel said. “They feel let down. And they think the local government and the state government can handle those problems. And I don’t want that to become adversarial. That’s why I’m the candidate.

“Because when you look at the 13 candidates on this side or even the (eight) candidates on the other side, you’re not going to find a more consensus candidate than me. Because I look at things as what’s best not just for our constituents, but what’s best for our country. So, when you look at education, you say, ‘OK. How do we reform this?’”

Patel said he would support a federal initiative to improve education that would not take decision-making away from the state and local levels.

Patel said if he goes to Congress he will have a staff member whose job is to inform small businesses about federal programs that can help them. Patel said he saw the need for that effort during the COVID pandemic, when he said he only learned about a federal grant program from a chamber of commerce Facebook post.

“This was life-saving money for small businesses,” Patel said. “And let me tell you, I know small business owners. And they’re not out there just sitting on Facebook. They’re out there working from morning to night.”