Mo Brooks leads Katie Britt in recent poll; ‘room to grow’ for Britt
According to a new poll, Rep. Mo Brooks tops Katie Britt in the race for the Republican Senate nomination in Alabama, reported the Washington Examiner. However, Brooks’ lead isn’t unbeatable. Britt has a chance to catch up. Public Opinion Strategies, a GOP firm, conducted the poll mainly to research attitudes toward energy policy among Alabama’s voters. Brooks led Britt 41% to 11%; however, 39% of respondents were undecided. Brooks, backed by his endorsement from Donald Trump, garnered 18% of respondents stating they would “probably” vote for him versus 23% who said their vote for Brooks was “definite.” This, along with the number of undecided respondents, leaves “room to grow” for Britt. Trailing Britt in the survey were businesswoman Jessica Taylor with 7% and former ambassador Lynda Blanchard with 3%. The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted from August 24–September 2. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.56 percentage points. Alabama’s primary is scheduled for May 24, with a runoff in June if necessary.
Lynda Blanchard: Democrats singing that same old debt-limit song
When Johnny and I first married, times were tough. He was in school, and I was working a minimum-wage job. We had to watch every penny. We did without, and we made do, and we lived on what money we had at the time. Why can’t the federal government do the same? Now, we’re seeing yet another verse of the same old debt-limit song from Washington. The Democrats are pushing Bernie Sanders’ $3.5 trillion dollar budget while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is saying that unless the debt ceiling is raised, the United States will default on our debt payments for the first time in history. On Monday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that they would combine bills to suspend the debt limit once again with an emergency spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and default. Thankfully, Congressional Republicans are going to make the Democrats do this all on their own, so there will be no question about who owns it. Republicans know that the Democrats will use suspending the debt limit to fuel their wasteful spending on their progressive wish list. We’re lucky that on Monday, the Senate Parliamentarian blocked an attempt by the Democrats to put amnesty for millions of illegals in the budget. This would have basically created a new immigration policy without any input from Republicans and would have cost us an estimated $109 billion dollars, and included green cards, education, and other benefits for roughly 10 million illegals. Pelosi, Schumer, Sanders, and company want to keep turning illegals into Democrat voters, and they want you to pay for it on the nation’s credit card. The Democrats want to import voters so they can stay in power forever, and they expect us to foot the bill. They want to ram through a $3.5 trillion budget using the reconciliation process without Republicans having any say in the process, never mind that it would cause trillion-dollar deficits for the next ten years. They want to borrow and spend on every kind of perk for themselves, like a $200 million park near Pelosi’s home, when the country isn’t able to pay its credit card bill now. This nonsense has to stop. I support our Congressional Republicans in blocking the Democrats’ out-of-control spending. We also have to stop allowing immigrants to pour across our southern border, spreading themselves and the COVID they carry across the country and draining federal, state, and local resources where they settle. Until we get a handle on the Biden border crisis, we’ll continue to run up bills paying for it. We can’t fix one without fixing the other, as the Democrats’ amnesty end-run in the budget just proved. It’s time that Congress started living within the country’s means. We need to kill this budget bill, then focus on fixing our hard infrastructure that’s been ignored for decades, meeting our country’s real needs, and cutting the waste, so we only spend what we take in. Ordinary families and most states do this all the time. What will it take for the federal government to start doing this? I strongly urge the Republicans in Congress to save this bill because it’s a necessary first step toward saving America. Lynda Blanchard served as President Donald Trump’s United States Ambassador to Slovenia, the First Lady’s birth country. Ambassador Blanchard is also a successful business woman from Montgomery, where she is involved in many philanthropic activities. She is a mom to 8 wonderful kids. Ambassador Blanchard is one of only 3 Presidential appointed Ambassadors in history from the state of Alabama. She is currently running for U.S. Senate.
Steve Flowers: Donald Trump comes to Alabama
Former President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Heart of Dixie last week. Obviously, this is Trump country. Alabama was one of Trump’s best states in the 2020 Election. He got an amazing 65% of the vote in our state. If the turnout for his August 21 rally in rural Cullman County is any indication, he would get that same margin of victory this year if the election were held again. Many of those in attendance were insistent that Trump won last year’s presidential contest and that it was stolen from him. The event was held on a desolate rural north Alabama farm. It was reminiscent of the 1969 Woodstock event in rural New York. In fact, our newly minted U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville referred to it as “Trumpstock.” Tuberville nor I either one attended Woodstock, but we are old enough to know about the legendary music and imbibing event. It was also reminiscent of some of the old George Wallace rallies in the 1960’s – only much larger. The rally drew an enormous crowd. Estimates said there were 45,000 Trumpites in attendance, and I am not an expert on estimating crowds, but I do not disagree with that number. It took me 30 minutes to walk through the crowd to get to my car. Trump is truly an entertainer, and Alabama is truly Trump Country, although there were quite a few folks in attendance from neighboring states. I was very appreciative to be given a VIP front row private reception invitation to the event. Allow me to share some of my observations. Coach/Senator Tommy Tuberville won his seat in the U.S. Senate because Trump endorsed him. It is obvious that Trump and Tuberville like each other and have bonded. Tuberville ran for and is in the Senate for the right reason. He wants to spend some of his retirement years giving back to this country. Tuberville was not groomed to be a politician. He is a football coach, but he is doing a good job representing Alabama in Washington. He has put together a good staff headed by veteran Stephen Boyd. They are doing a good job with constituent service. Tuberville looked jovial, relaxed, and dapper when he spoke prior to Trump. Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth gave a great speech. It was fiery and almost George Wallace level. He is a true conservative. He has two young sons who accompanied him to the rally. They are very gentlemanly young men who are always courteous and mannerly. Attorney General Steve Marshall gave an excellent speech. It was conversational, sincere, and well-received. Congressman Robert Aderholt was spectacular and gave a great speech and welcome. He represents Cullman in congress. His 4th Congressional District gave Trump the largest percentage votes of any congressional district in the country. Aderholt looks like a congressman. He is polished and erudite but has a grassroots appeal. His people in North Alabama love him. Mo Brooks spoke and was fiery as ever. Trump has endorsed him in the senate race. However, Trump only endorsed him once on this night. There is a lot of internal discord among the Republican Party membership. It appears that the Mo Brooks supporters have taken over the Republican Party hierarchy and that this Trump event was a Mo Brooks rally. Trump probably was asked to temper his Brooks endorsement. Indeed, Mo Brooks’s opponents, Katie Britt, Lynda Blanchard, and Jessica Taylor were all in attendance. Several state senators were there, along with the aforementioned state constitutional officers. I saw Greg Reed from Jasper, Tom Whatley from Auburn, along with hometown Cullman Senator Garlan Gudger, and PSC Commissioner Jeremy Oden, also from Cullman County. In addition, Secretary of State John Merrill and Jefferson/Shelby Congressman Gary Palmer were in attendance. It was good to see some of the old, longtime, 50 year Republican Party faithful founders there – Elbert Peters from Huntsville, Joan and Paul Reynolds from Shelby County, and Vicki and Mike Drummond from Jasper. They were laboring in the Republican vineyards before it was cool to be a Republican and still are. I had a chance to see Trump closeup. He looks amazing for 75. People age differently. He is a lot more cognizant and alert than 78-year-old Joe Biden. If you made me bet, I would say that Trump is running for President in 2024 and that he will carry Alabama. Happy Labor Day. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column is seen in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at: www.steveflowers.us.
Lynda Blanchard may switch gears and run for governor
Lynda Blanchard was the first candidate to announce her intentions to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Richard Shelby. Blanchard announced her candidacy in February and her initial filing with the Federal Elections Commission showed she raised more than $300,000 in donations in the first six weeks of her campaign. Now there’s a possibility she might be dropping out of that race and gearing up to run against Gov. Kay Ivey in the 2022 GOP primary, Jeff Poor reported. The former Ambassador to Slovenia worked for the Trump administration, but Blanchard did not earn former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. That went to Rep. Mo Brooks. During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Blanchard discussed rumors. She didn’t confirm or deny the rumors, saying, “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.” “Any way that I can support the president and support the Republican Party, I’m willing to do,” Blanchard added. “So, I’m praying about everything.” Other candidates running for the Senate seat are Katie Britt, Jessica Taylor, and Mo Brooks.
Steve Flowers: Status of race for Richard Shelby’s seat
The field may be set for the race to fill the Seat of our iconic senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby. When Senator Shelby announced that he would not seek a seventh six-year term in the United States Senate earlier this year, many of us expected a stampede of candidates to throw their hats in the ring. When a U.S. Senate seat opens for the first time in 36 years, you might expect everybody who had ever won a 4-H speaking contest to enter the fray. However, I guess politics does not have quite the allure that it used to in bygone days. The election will be held on May 24, 2022. I say election rather than Republican Primary because a Democrat cannot win in a statewide race in Alabama. Winning the GOP Primary is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie. The four GOP candidates are Huntsville Congressman Mo Brooks, 67, former Trump Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard, 62, former Shelby Chief of Staff and more currently Business Council of Alabama CEO, Katie Britt, 39, and finally Jessica Taylor, who is only 37. Allow me to outline the attributes and foibles of all four. However, their order of description does not indicate my preference or their likelihood of winning. You may have noticed that beside all four names, I have acknowledged their chronological age on earth. This is important because seniority is not only important but is paramount in the pursuit of power and the ability to be an effective broker for Alabama along the Potomac. Obviously, the younger you are, the more likely that you have the potential to be an effective senator for Alabama because time in Washington equates to seniority, which results in power for our state. If someone had told Shelby when he entered the Senate 36 years ago in 1986 that the race to be his successor would field four major candidates, and three of them would be ladies, he would have been dubious. Speaking of Shelby and his successor, it is no secret that the fine senior gentleman senator from Tuscaloosa would like to see his former Chief of Staff, Katie Boyd Britt, follow him in the U.S. Senate. Those of us who have followed young Katie Boyd Britt since she was a girl growing up in Enterprise knew she had potential governor or U.S. Senator written all over her from the get-go. Katie was Miss Everything in Enterprise. She was governor of Girls State, went on to the University of Alabama where she was President of the Student Government, went on to graduate from the University of Alabama Law School. She went to work for Shelby, then practiced law for a while, and then became CEO of the Business Council of Alabama. She is married to Wesley Britt, a former Alabama football star from Cullman. They have two children and reside in Montgomery. Katie will be the moderate pro-business, Shelby-like, Republican in the race. She raised a record-breaking $2.4 million in her first month in the race. Jessica Taylor is a strikingly attractive, aggressive, and vivacious firebrand conservative. She ran a respectable third in the race for the open 2nd congressional seat last year. She may be hampered by an inability to compete with the other three in campaign funds. Lynda Blanchard, 62, is from Montgomery. She is indeed a lifetime resident of Montgomery except for three years as Ambassador to Slovenia. She is a quiet, well-spoken, sincere lady who would be a good senator. Undoubtedly, she has been successful in business. She has contributed over $5 million to her campaign. Congressman Mo Brooks enters the race as the frontrunner. Mo has staked out the conservative right-wing of this GOP race, which probably constitutes the majority of primary voters in Alabama. He quite deserves his label as the most conservative. He would more than likely be one of the most conservative senators in Washington if elected as our next senator. He has been a diligent right-winger during his entire 40-year career in politics. His 10 years of being the Congressman for the Tennessee Valley has proven that he is more interested in being on Fox News than bringing home the bacon for Alabama. He will proudly proclaim that he will be a United States Senator and not a Senator for Alabama. He has been totally ineffective during his time in Congress and would be ineffective for the entire state. In fact, if elected, he would be an albatross. However, having Trump’s total endorsement, Mo Brooks enters the race as the favorite. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at: www.steveflowers.us.
Katie Britt pulls no punches in responding to Mo Brooks’ ‘unqualified’ accusation
The Alabama senate race isn’t until 2022, but things are already heating up between frontrunners Katie Boyd Britt and Mo Brooks. While Brooks is betting on the power of the Donald Trump endorsement, Britt is leaning on more than just her connections to Senator Richard Shelby. According to the National Journal, Trump sent a statement through his PAC calling Shelby a “RINO.” Trump, in a statement, said Britt is “not what Alabama wants.” Trump wrote, “I see that the RINO Senator from Alabama, close friend of Old Crow Mitch McConnell, Richard Shelby, is pushing hard to have his ‘assistant’ fight the great Mo Brooks for his Senate seat.” In an interview with National Journal last week, Shelby suggested that Brooks is “feeling the momentum” of Britt’s candidacy. “Katie’s really just getting started. They’re showing a lot of interest, and they’re probably nervous about it,” Shelby commented. Britt has brought in $2.2 million in the second quarter of 2021 and had $2.1 million cash on hand. Brooks only brought in $824,000 in the second quarter. Brooks sent an email to the National Journal responding to Shelby’s comments. “I get that Richard Shelby wants to bequeath Alabama’s Senate seat to his former, relatively inexperienced employee. But U.S. Senate seats should never be inherited or bought, they should be earned and decided by the people of Alabama,” Brooks stated. “In any event, ‘rationality’ and ‘irrationality’ are in the eye of the beholder. I am 100% certain that, to Washington’s Swamp and special interest groups who routinely buy Congressmen and Senators, I appear very irrational because I put America First and special interest groups and their Swamp money dead last!” Brooks continued, “No person in Alabama history has been elected more times to public office as a Republican than has Mo Brooks. As such, I respectfully submit that Alabama voters have a much different perception of rationality than do Washington’s Swamp critters.” Apryl Marie Fogel, guest host of the Dan Morris Show on NewsTalk 93.1 Montgomery, spoke to Britt on her radio show on Thursday. When asked to respond to comments from the Trump organization and Brooks’ thoughts on her qualifications, Britt responded, “I know my opponent is a career politician, and he is clearly experienced at running for office and drawing a check off the taxpayer dime, honestly. I think as far as qualifications go, I believe qualifications are fighting tirelessly for Alabamians and listening to what issues they have and looking at what we’re facing in our country and knowing how to achieve results.” “Putting Alabama first and delivering real results for hard-working Alabamians is what I’ve done day in and day out throughout my career, Britt continued. “I define success through results, and it looks like my opponent, particularly given his words there, seems to define success through how many times he can put his name on a ballot in a lifetime. I guess I respectfully disagree.” There are also two other candidates in the senate race: former Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard and former House candidate Jessica Taylor. *Apryl Marie Fogel is the owner and publisher of Alabama Today.
Donald Trump stresses support of Mo Brooks, takes jab at Katie Britt, Richard Shelby
Former President Donald Trump repeated his support of U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in the Alabama race for U.S. Senate, and took a jab at Brooks’ well-funded rival Katie Britt. Britt said Saturday that it’s a sign of her campaign’s momentum and fired back that she didn’t need anyone to fight her battles. Trump in a statement reiterated his support for Brooks and took jabs at senators, including U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Britt was Shelby’s chief of staff but left to lead an influential business group. Trump, in a statement, said Britt, is “not what Alabama wants.” “I see that the RINO Senator from Alabama, close friend of Old Crow Mitch McConnell, Richard Shelby, is pushing hard to have his ‘assistant’ fight the great Mo Brooks for his Senate seat,” Trump wrote in a statement, using the expression for “Republican in name only.” Britt posted a video Saturday that didn’t mention Trump by name but said she was responding to a statement put out about her candidacy. “What I want to tell you is that doesn’t scare me. I’m here to fight for you,” Britt said in a video posted on her campaign’s Twitter account. “It is clear that our message is resonating. People are ready for something new. They are ready for fresh blood, fighting for Christian conservative and putting Alabama first. That is what people want,” Britt said. Shelby, who is retiring at the end of his term, has backed Britt as his successor. The Republican primary is shaping up to be a bitter battle. Trump’s former ambassador to Slovenia, Lynda Blanchard, and Jessica Taylor, the owner of a grant-writing business who narrowly missed the runoff for a south Alabama congressional seat, are also in the race. Britt, who launched her campaign in early June, raised an impressive $2.2 million in her first weeks on the trail. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Republican business owner Jessica Taylor enters U.S. Senate race
The owner of a grant-writing business who narrowly missed a runoff for a congressional seat on Thursday became the fourth candidate to enter the U.S. Senate race in Alabama to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby. Jessica Taylor introduced herself to state voters with a video that stressed conservative themes and, like other candidates in the race have done, emphasized her fealty to former President Donald Trump’s agenda as well as her dislike of President Joe Biden’s administration. Speaking of Vice President Kamala Harris, Taylor said she would “be Kamala’s worst nightmare.” “It’s long past time serious conservatives like us rise up and finish Trump’s mission of draining the swamp,” Taylor said in the campaign launch video. “I’ll protect life, defend the Second Amendment, support our police, a strong military, finishing President Trump’s wall, and I’ll never bend the knee to Communist China. And no, I still won’t apologize for it. We already have plenty of RINOs, career politicians, and lobbyists in the swamp, and they’ve been effectively useless,” Taylor said, using the acronym for Republican In Name Only. Three Republicans are already in the race: Katie Britt, the former leader of the Business Council of Alabama and Shelby’s former chief of staff; Congressman Mo Brooks, who is armed with an endorsement from Trump; and Lynda Blanchard, a businesswoman who was Trump’s ambassador to Slovenia. Shelby, one of the Senate’s most senior members, announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in 2022, igniting what is expected to be a messy GOP primary. Taylor lives in the Birmingham area with her three children. She finished third in the 2020 GOP primary for the 2nd Congressional District. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Upon Alabama Senate race, Mo Brooks says opponents ‘will go negative’
Last Thursday, Congressman and candidate for the Alabama senate, Mo Brooks, took to the stand and said his opponents ‘will go negative’, referring to his strong lead ahead of the 2022 GOP race for Senate. Brooks spoke on the April 2021 poll by the conservative Club for Growth. This comes shortly after Katie Boyd Britt announced her run for Alabama Senate on Tuesday. After Brooks made this statement, voices of the political arena stated they believe it is too early to make such a claim. Brooks, during a visit to South Alabama on Thursday, said his Republican challengers – Katie Boyd Britt, the former president and CEO for the Business Council of Alabama; and Lynda Blanchard, a former ambassador to Slovenia under President Donald Trump – will have to go on the attack ahead of the May 24 Republican primary race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. The poll showed Brooks with a whopping 46-point lead, with 19 percent of voters undecided. “When you have one person with 59 percent of the vote, and Candidates 2 and 3 at 13 and 9, they are pretty much boxed in to attack position,” said Brooks, referring to the Club for Growth poll that occurred on April 26-27, long before Britt announced her candidacy. “The only question is whether they will attack as Lynda Blanchard has or if they are going to attack indirectly through third-party groups so they can have some degree of plausible deniability.” Brooks said his current standing among Alabama Republican voters is “scary good,” citing the Club for Growth polling, which said that 77 percent of respondents were not aware that Trump had endorsed the Huntsville Republican’s candidacy. The former president endorsed Brooks in early April. Like Angi Horn Stalnaker of Montgomery, some GOP strategists noted that Club for Growth has a record of negative campaigning itself and that if it’s aligned with Brooks, it will be pushing out its own advertisements against Britt and Blanchard in the months ahead. Joe Kildea, a spokesman with Club for Growth, said the organization had not made an endorsement in the 2022 race. With the 2022 Senate Election a year away, the polls have yet to accurately predict the outcome.
Donald Trump allies cite Lynda Blanchard as type of misleading candidate ‘full of sh*t’ implying his support
During the 2020 election cycle, Lynda Blanchard donated nearly $1 million to pro-Donald Trump political committees and served as his ambassador to Slovenia, a fact that she frequently touts on social media. However, when she launched her Alabama Senate campaign with a video spotlighting her Trump bumper sticker, the former president became annoyed, reported Politico. Trump even went so far as to announce his endorsement of Mo Brooks early because of it. Brooks, a longtime ally of Trump, posted on Twitter, “PRESIDENT TRUMP ENDORSED MY CAMPAIGN – I am honored and humbled by President Trump’s strong endorsement. I ask all Americans who share our America First vision to heed and honor President Trump’s request by joining our campaign.” https://twitter.com/MoBrooks/status/1379813906768625672 Many candidates are portraying themselves as Trump loyalists and are falsely claiming that they are being endorsed by Trump which is making his team act more aggressively with those who do. Because Trump isn’t in office, it is harder to keep track of campaigns, and his political team has to work harder to stop fake endorsements. According to the Politico report, the Trump campaign sent cease-and-desist letters to the likes of Alabama Senate candidate Jeff Sessions and even contenders for local office. Sessions fought back during his 2020 campaign but eventually lost to Tommy Tuberville after Trump endorsed him over Sessions. “Lots of candidates pretend to have the support of President Trump. Most are full of shit. You will know when President Trump endorses someone,” said former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. In March, Blanchard posted on Twitter, “Honored to have received a surprise visit from President Trump at my event this weekend! I can’t wait to build on the MAGA Agenda and deliver results.” https://twitter.com/Blanchard4Sen/status/1371444444587757575 Later, Blanchard retweeted a Yellowhammer News post. https://twitter.com/yhn/status/1371585778309083144 As the 2022 election cycle draws nearer, Trump will continue to weigh in on candidates. If a candidate fakes an endorsement, it could derail their campaign. “Until a candidate gets an official statement from President Trump, whether in writing, video or audio, they do not have the official endorsement,” stated John McLaughlin, who was a pollster on Trump’s campaigns. “It’s dishonest. If proven, it could totally backfire.” Former Pennsylvania GOP chairman Rob Gleason said, “I would warn people against claiming endorsements from anyone without authorization. When and if President Trump endorses anyone, it will be very unmistakable.”
Well wishes for Donald Trump’s birthday pour in on social media
June 14 is Flag day, and it also happens to be former president Donald Trump’s 75th birthday. Although not an official federal holiday, Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. Even though Trump no longer uses Twitter since he was banned from the social media website after the January 6th attack on the Capitol, well wishes have been pouring in on the site. U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mo Brooks posted on his Twitter election page stating, “Happy Birthday to the GREATEST!” Happy Birthday to the GREATEST! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/XyrLoCjria — Mo Brooks (@MoBrooks) June 14, 2021 Rep. Barry Moore sent birthday wishes to Trump on Twitter, stating, “Happy birthday, President Donald J. Trump! Thank you for always putting Americans first.” Happy birthday, President Donald J. Trump! Thank you for always putting Americans first. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/IxryPm6D1F — Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) June 14, 2021 Senate candidate Lynda Blanchard posted on Twitter, “#HappyBirthday to the best President and my friend, Donald J. Trump! It was such an honor to work in his Administration as the U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia. I hope you have many more Mr. President!” #HappyBirthday to the best President and my friend, Donald J. Trump! It was such an honor to work in his Administration as the U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia. I hope you have many more Mr. President! #45 #Trump #DonaldTrump #USSenate #alpolitics @DonaldJTrumpJr @MELANIATRUMP pic.twitter.com/u8njmb9W1T — Lindy Blanchard for Governor of Alabama (@Blanchard4Gov) June 14, 2021 Alabama Senate president Will Ainsworth posted, “Happy Birthday to a great friend to Alabama, thanks for all you do President Trump.” Happy Birthday to a great friend to Alabama, thanks for all you do President Trump. pic.twitter.com/nOCehQ4QjH — Will Ainsworth (@willainsworthAL) June 14, 2021
Katie Boyd Britt files paperwork to run for U.S. Senate
A longtime aide to retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby is entering the race to replace him in what’s shaping up to be a GOP primary slugfest at a time when the national Republican Party is trying to chart a direction after President Donald Trump’s departure. Katie Boyd Britt, the former president of the Business Council of Alabama and Shelby’s former chief of staff, filed federal paperwork Thursday to run for the seat in the 2022 election. While she has not announced a run, it has been long speculated that she would. Shelby announced in February at the age of 86 that he would not seek a seventh term. The GOP primary could serve as a microcosm of the larger national tug of war over the direction of the Republican Party. While Shelby has amassed a conservative voting record, the measured Republican senator has not embraced the bombastic populist style of some GOP candidates. Two Republicans are already in the race: Congressman Mo Brooks, who is armed with an endorsement from Trump, and Lynda Blanchard, a businesswoman who was Trump’s ambassador to Slovenia. Brooks, 66, has come under fire for telling attendees at a Jan. 6 rally that preceded the U.S. Capitol riot that it was time to “start taking down names and kicking ass.” Brooks said the phrase was intended to fire up the crowd for the next election cycle and is being misconstrued as advocating the violence that followed. Britt resigned from the Business Council of Alabama on Friday. In a statement, the council said she was leaving to pursue other opportunities. In her own statement, Britt said that she considered one of her greatest achievements to have been “bringing the previously forgotten back into the fold — our small businesses on Main Street, and the rural businesses and industry that are the heartbeats of local communities in every corner of our great state.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
