Mighty Alabama Strike Force to deploy to Georgia to help Herschel Walker win Senate
Shelby County Republican Party Chair Joan Reynolds spoke at the River Region Republican Club meeting at the Farmer’s Market Café on Tuesday. The Mighty Alabama Strike Force, which she heads, will begin making trips on Sunday to Georgia to help football legend Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator, win the November 8 general election. Walker is challenging Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Reynolds said that the idea for the Mighty Alabama Strike Force began when then-Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL06) noted that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) needed help with a congressional race in North Carolina and asked Reynolds for her help. “My job was to recruit volunteers and train them,” Reynolds said. “The volunteers were all from in the area. When I got back home, I said I need to get two or three people that can help me. I ended up spending two or three weeks in Durham. I realized then how important volunteers are.” “It started under the Bush Administration,” Reynolds explained of her involvement in out-of-state congressional campaigns. “That is what I have been doing for the last 14 years.” Reynolds said she took her first volunteers from Alabama to a Senate race in Arkansas, where they campaigned in Jonesboro. “In 2012, I was asked to go to Sioux City, Iowa,” to help the Mitt Romney campaign, Reynolds explained. “There was a religious factor there as they (Iowa voters) were not going to vote for a Mormon.” Reynolds is married to Alabama’s Republican National Committeeman Paul Reynolds. “Paul put together a busload,” Reynolds said. “It was a small used school bus, and they went to Sioux City. Coming back, they ran into a problem when they broke down. After that, I realized we needed some money.” “My volunteers did not mind staying in homes, but they would rather stay in hotels,” Reynolds said. “In 2014, we went to Indiana and campaigned for Bill Cassidy. We went to Tennessee and campaigned for Marsha Blackburn. We won both of those.” “In 2016, Donald Trump decided to run,” Reynolds said. “He was such a forceful figure that it was easy to get volunteers. It was also easy to raise money.” “We spend a week, or we won’t go,” Reynolds said of the duration of the trips. “We were asked to go to Florida in 2020.” “In 2021, I was asked by one of my donors to see if we can go to Virginia to go to campaign for Glenn Youngkin,” Reynolds said. “That was the first time we got involved in a governor’s race.” “That was the first time that we had to fly,” Reynolds said. “It was right after we were getting over COVID, and the economy was just opening up. I contacted every bus company in Alabama, and it was cheaper to fly.” Youngkin won his election. “He said it was so important that we came and actually talked to people in the Commonwealth,” Reynolds said. Reynolds asked for help from Republicans across Alabama. “We cannot do it without funding, and we cannot do it without volunteers,” Reynolds said. “We do not charge them (the volunteers) for their rooms or their transportation. There is no administrative fee, and I don’t get one red cent out of it, and that is ok because I don’t do for profit.” Reynolds said that volunteering is demanding. “If you cannot walk three miles, then don’t go,” Reynolds said. “You have to be able to use an iPhone, a google phone, or an android in order to be able to download the maps that we use.” “We do not go to Democrat homes,” Reynolds said. “We will run into some where people have moved and changed homes, but we go to Republican homes. We are strictly about getting out the Republican vote. We have got to get the turnout. The turnout (in the primaries) has been awful. Even in Shelby County, we were at a measly 18 percent.” “Lindy Blanchard is our inhouse Captain,” from the Montgomery area, Reynolds said. “She is going to Savannah.” Pat Wilson with the Montgomery Republican Women announced that Terri Hasdorff will speak to the group on Tuesday, October 26, about her book, Running into the Fire. “I still need poll watchers to make sure that our election is strong as it can be,” Wilson said. “I was disgusted when I looked at our voter turnout last time. Less than 15% of our voters cared enough about our county and state to come out and vote. We need to get people involved.” Greg Pool is the Chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party. State Rep. Charlotte Meadows (R-Montgomery) and Republican House District 69 candidate Karla Knight Maddox also spoke to the group asking for their efforts to get out the vote in the Montgomery area. Maddox thanked the River Region Republicans for their help and said she had been working hard traveling around House District 69, campaigning and meeting people. Pool said the latest polling by the Alabama Republican Party has Maddox moving into an evenly split with the Democratic incumbent. Meadows said, “If Karla and I get elected, that will mean a Republican majority on our (Montgomery County) legislative delegation.” To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
John Wahl says ALGOP won’t be sitting on the sideline taking supermajority for granted
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl spent the weekend in Washington D.C. planning and strategy sessions for the upcoming midterm elections on November 8. The trip was part of finalizing the Republican Party’s 2022 election priorities. During the four-day trip, he attended multiple high-level meetings with different political organizations. “The Alabama Republican Party is ready to help our candidates at home, as well as around the country,” Wahl said in a statement. “We won’t be sitting on the sidelines taking our state’s supermajority for granted. We’ve been working hard for the people of Alabama and doing our part to help partners in other states so we can take back the U.S. House and Senate. Too much is at stake, and we must do all we can to restore America and reign in the out-of-control liberal policies of the Biden Administration.” Chairman Wahl said he has finalized plans with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). The Alabama Republican Party has been involved in a joint fundraising committee with the NRSC geared at helping U.S. Senate nominees from around the country. The Senate is currently divided 50:50, and Republicans are hoping that they can pick up seats and regain control of the U.S. Senate, which the party lost in 2020. “The ALGOP has been working hard to make sure our candidates have the resources they need. Republicans have the opportunity to flip several seats this year, and I hope our joint fundraising committee will play an important role in gaining a majority in the U.S. Senate,” Wahl stated. The Chairman also spent time with the Republican National Committee (RNC). Wahl said that the RNC’s involvement is crucial in the ALGOP’s Restore America campaigns in Georgia and other states, helping Republican efforts stay on the same page. There could be as many as 100 volunteers from the Mighty Alabama Strike Force traveling to Georgia to help Herschel Walker’s campaign for U.S. Senate. The first round of volunteers will leave Alabama for Georgia on Sunday. “It’s exciting to have so many volunteers from across the state of Alabama joining in the fight to take back the Senate in 2022,” Wahl commented. “This election cycle is going to be critical if we have any chance to save our economy and restore the America we know and love. Herschel Walker is a special candidate who understands the American dream and the struggles facing the middle class because of bad government decisions. He has energized people across the country with his common sense conservative message, and we look forward to helping him win this November.” Wahl said that this trip finalized much of the work started at the RNC Winter and Summer Meetings in Salt Lake City and Chicago. “We had the opportunity to review election forecast data and really look at how we can best help our candidates,” Wahl said. “It’s so important that we know where to best spend our resources – both financial and boots on the ground.” The Alabama Republican Party cited several preparations that they have made for the midterm election and are in the middle of implementing in an attempt to make 2022 one of the Party’s strongest general election campaigns ever. • Set a one-day political fundraiser record of $1.1 million at the Party’s Cullman Trump Rally. • Elected the State’s first African-American Republican, Kenneth Paschal, to the State House • Launched an Outreach Coalition to minority voters • Started the Restore America campaign to help Republican candidates win across the country • Target over 40 candidates across the state of Alabama in one of the largest financial commitments in the history of the ALGOP. The Alabama Republican Party won the governorship for the first time since the 1870s in 1986 when probate Judge Guy Hunt defeated Lt. Gov. Bill Baxley. Since then, the ALGOP has been gaining strength and momentum. In the Red wave 2010 election, the ALGOP won supermajorities in both Houses of the Alabama Legislature as well as every statewide elected office on the ballot. The elections that have followed have only increased the GOP’s status as the dominant political party in Alabama. The general election will be on November 8. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mighty Alabama Strike Force heading to Georgia to campaign for Herschel Walker
The Alabama Republican Party is recruiting volunteers for its Mighty Alabama Strike Force to campaign door to door for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Hershel Walker. “The Mighty Alabama Strike Force is recruiting volunteers to travel to Georgia in October to knock on doors for Herschel Walker,” said the head of the Strike Force, Joan Reynolds. According to Reynolds, the group is planning to canvass for Walker from October 2–7 as well as October 16-21; and Halloween week from October 30 thru November 4. The general election is on November 8 “Put on your walking shoes, grab your iPhone or android and let’s win back the U.S Senate,” Reynolds stated. “We have a good candidate, and we need all hands on deck. Lodging and transportation to the city is provided by our donors.” Walker addressed the Alabama Republican Party at its August 17 Summer Dinner. Walker, a standout football player at the University of Georgia and several professional teams, is challenging incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock. The Senate is currently divided 50 Republicans: 48 Democrats, and two independents who caucus with the Democrats, meaning that Vice President Kamala Harris gives Democrats control over the body. “If you cannot travel, we have an opportunity for you to make calls from home,” Reynolds said. “If you prefer to campaign in Alabama, we can put you in contact with the campaigns locally. We have something for everyone to do. Don’t be left behind. We only ask for one week out of every two years. Our country is worth it.” Joan Reynolds is the Chair of the Shelby County Republican Party and the wife of Paul Reynolds, the Alabama Republican National Committeeman. The Mighty Alabama Strike Force most recently deployed to Virginia, where they helped Republican Glenn Youngkin win his 2021 gubernatorial race. In 2020 they deployed to Florida, where they helped incumbent Donald Trump win the hotly contested swing state. The 2022 election is being hotly contested. Republicans are hopeful that they can take one or both Houses of Congress. The Georgia Senate race is right at the center of this battle. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
