Elise Stefanik endorses Katie Britt for U.S. Senate
On Thursday, GOP House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s E-PAC announced the endorsement of Republican nominee Katie Britt for U.S. Senate in Alabama. “I am proud to endorse Katie Britt to be Alabama’s next U.S. Senator,” said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-New York). “Katie is an America First warrior who will be a crucial voice for Alabama in the Senate, where she will stand up against Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s radical policies that have created crisis after crisis. I am proud to add Katie to the ranks of strong, E-PAC-endorsed GOP women on the ballot this November, and I encourage all Alabama families to vote for Katie Britt in the critical mission to take back the Senate and save America.” Britt released a statement thanking Congresswoman Stefanik for her endorsement. “I’m grateful to Congresswoman Stefanik for her support and endorsement,” stated Britt. “The Republican Party is the party of parents and hardworking families, who are getting crushed by the unchecked consequences of one-party Democratic rule in Joe Biden’s Washington, D.C. As November 8 quickly approaches, moms and dads across our nation are stepping up to preserve the American Dream for our children and our children’s children. Together, we will save the country we know and love.” There are 23 E-PAC endorsed GOP women in open and challenger House races in November’s election. Britt is the third E-PAC-endorsed GOP woman running for the U.S. Senate. The others are Leora Levy in Connecticut and Tiffany Smiley in the state of Washington. The majority of 2022’s E-PAC endorsed GOP women won their primaries, and three of 2022’s E-PAC endorsed GOP women have already been sworn into Congress: These are Connie Conway (CA-22), Julia Letlow (LA-05), and Mayra Flores (TX-34). Katie Boyd Britt grew up in Enterprise, where her parents were small business owners. Britt graduated from Enterprise High School. She got a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a law degree from the University of Alabama Law School. Britt is a practicing attorney. She is the former President and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) and formerly was Chief of Staff for incumbent Republican Sen. Richard Shelby. Britt is married to former University of Alabama, and New England Patriots star football player Wesley Britt from Cullman County. The couple and their two children now reside in Montgomery. Britt has been endorsed by both Shelby and former President Donald Trump. Britt winning the election is essential to Republicans’ hopes of taking control of the U.S. Senate as Britt would be a Republican replacing a Republican. Shelby is retiring after 36 years representing Alabama in the Senate. Voters will decide on Tuesday, November 8, between Katie Boyd Britt, Libertarian nominee John Sophocleus, and Democratic nominee Dr. Will Boyd. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Joe Guzzardi: Hispanic voters trending red
For the last several presidential election cycles, media messaging has been consistent: candidates who capture the Hispanic vote will win. The suggestion, often unstated, was that GOP candidates need to promote an illegal alien amnesty, pledge to curtail interior enforcement, and promote expanded immigration. In 2022, however, Hispanics could indeed hold the key to a GOP victory, but not because they endorse amnesty. Hispanics, realizing that an open border creates job competition, classroom chaos, and disrupts their communities, oppose President Joe Biden’s immigration agenda. The Hispanic shift toward Republicans has been slowly but steadily building. In 2004 and 2016, Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump scored well among Hispanics, 40 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Trump’s 2020 total was almost 10 points higher than his 2016 tally. But in the 20 months since Biden’s inauguration, the White House’s open borders agenda has accelerated the Hispanic shift to the GOP. Remember that Hispanics who vote are U.S. citizens, and their hopes and concerns are largely identical to other Americans. In his new book, “Political Migrants: Hispanic Voters on the Move,” Jim Robb wrote that Biden’s refusal to enforce border laws and instead to opt for catch-and-release has been disastrous for all Americans, but especially legal immigrants and the 40-plus million American-born Hispanics. This fall, indications are that Hispanics will vote Republican at a higher rate than they did in 2020: 41 percent plan to vote Republican against 45 percent who will support Democrats, with others undecided. Since only 29 percent of Hispanics voted Republican in the 2018 mid-term election, 41 percent would be a significant GOP move toward capturing an important demographic. In fact, 41 percent would be the highest mid-term election share Republicans have ever received from Hispanics. On important life-affecting issues, Hispanics side with the GOP. Among likely Hispanic voters, 52 percent believe the government is doing “too little to reduce illegal border crossings and visitor overstays.” Only 15 percent believe the government is doing “too much.” Hispanic voters overwhelmingly agree that chain migration should be limited to spouses and minor children, that Congress should mandate E-Verify, which helps assure that only citizens and lawfully present foreign nationals can hold jobs, that businesses should raise wages to attract American workers before hiring foreign nationals, and that legal immigration should be reduced from its current one million-plus annually inflow. Other poll findings may vary, but tangible evidence exists that the Hispanic shift to the GOP is real and may represent the difference in November. In a special June election to determine who would represent Texas’ 34th congressional district in the illegal immigration-besieged Rio Grande Valley, Mayra Flores defeated Democrat Dan Sanchez. A citizen since age 14 and married to a border patrol officer, Flores represents a burgeoning breed of Hispanic officeholders who promote strict border enforcement. Flores is the first Republican to represent her historically blue district in 150 years and the first woman born in Mexico ever elected to Congress. Just weeks after her victory, Flores called on her colleagues to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his abject failures to enforce immigration laws which have caused the ongoing border crisis. Texas gubernatorial challenger Robert O’Rourke, trailing Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, explained why Hispanics have abandoned Democrats. O’Rourke, harkening back to 2020, blamed Biden, who “…didn’t spend a dime or day in the Rio Grande Valley or really anywhere in Texas….” Flores will be on the November ballot when she faces Democrat Vicente Gonzales, who has consistently voted to support Biden’s open borders policy. Political forecasters maintain that the 34th still leans blue. But a Flores victory would confirm that the Hispanic trend to red is real. Joe Guzzardi is a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist who writes about immigration and related social issues. Joe joined Progressives for Immigration Reform in 2018 as an analyst after a ten-year career directing media relations for Californians for Population Stabilization, where he also was a Senior Writing Fellow. A native Californian, Joe now lives in Pennsylvania. Contact him at jguzzardi@pfirdc.org.
