Former President Donald Trump is reportedly trying to find a Republican to run against Gov. Kay Ivey. According to a Rolling Stone report, Trump blames Ivey for canceling one of his rallies in Alabama this summer.
The rally in question was a July 3 “Freedom Rally” at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile. Defenders of Ivey note that the rally was canceled by the Battleship Commission, not the governor herself though the commission is stacked with appointees she chose. Trump has “privately blamed” Ivey, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s plan for vengeance is taking shape in the form of Lynda Blanchard. Blanchard is currently running for U.S. Senate in Alabama but did not receive Trump’s endorsement for her campaign. Instead, that endorsement went to Mo Brooks.
Rumors have swirled for months that the former ambassador to Slovenia might be looking to make a move from a Senate run to a run for governor.
In an August interview on FM Talk 106.5’s Jeff Poor Show, Blanchard commented, “You know, I can tell you that I’ve been all over this state, and there are a lot of people that, you know, like we saw this weekend, want everything Trump. And they want a Trump governor, as well. So, I do have people reaching out to me. I’m praying about it, and you know, I’m in the race for U.S. Senate, and love the president and respect anything that he would like.”
Trump is now talking to Blanchard about a run for governor against Ivey, a move that would undoubtedly give her the sought-after Trump endorsement.
Ivey has remained committed to the message that she is a Trump supporter even as her record remains unclear. At the end of July, Gov. Ivey penned an op-ed in The Washington Post titled “The Trump administration gave us the best weapons against covid-19. We should use them.”
