An Alabama-based grassroots organization is sending volunteers later this year to hammer pavement in a massively important swing state, Pennsylvania, to help secure the state for former President Donald Trump.
The Mighty Alabama Strike Force has operated since 2008, traveling to pivotal parts of the country to advocate for Republican candidates in various political races.
The group takes volunteers on week-long trips to battleground states to help elect GOP-backed candidates. This year, as the November presidential election draws near, all eyes are on Pennsylvania.
After the events in recent months, Pennsylvania is shaping up to be a deciding state for the next President of the United States. After Trump suffered a gunshot wound in an assassination attempt in Butler, Penn., the state looked like it could favor the former president.
Additionally, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was anticipated to select Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) as her running mate, which would likely have significantly swung the state in the Democrats' direction. However, after Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Pennsylvania is still anyone’s game.
Joan Reynolds, the chairwoman of the Shelby County GOP and founder of the Mighty Alabama Strike Force, told 1819 News that she started the organization after being called on to assist in a North Carolina race when then-Congressman Spencer Bachus asked her husband for help.
“It is an independent, grassroots organization that started when the Mighty American Strike Force started out of Texas,” Reynolds told 18189 News. “They started when George Bush was running, and they ultimately got him elected. The guy that headed that decided that he would make it an American Strike Force and go into all the other states. So, there is a strike force in most other states. I’m the largest strike force in the Mighty American Strike Force; I have the most volunteers and do the most traveling. I feel like it’s really beneficial, and it does make a difference.”
“This whole thing started with three or four volunteers, and now we have 150 or more," she added. "It’s strictly a grassroots organization that started from scratch. It just kind of developed as I continued going and going. I just want people to see that if I can do this, you can do this. They can set up grassroots organizations and go out to make a difference. I would hate to wake up On November 6 with a Democrat in office and I had done nothing. I think that would be the worst thing I could imagine, and most of these people are very passionate about that.”
“It just kind of grew,” Reynolds continued. “In 2012, I spent six weeks in Iowa and recruited volunteers and trained them there. Then I had a group that came up, my husband rented a school bus that brought 25 volunteers up there. I had homes for them to stay there because It never dawned on me until that point that I would need to raise some money, so I was doing it on my own. Then, on the way back from Iowa, the bus broke down. And so that’s when I really decided this is not working. I’ve got to raise some money because we need dependable transportation, and we‘ve got to have some lodging for these volunteers. So, I started at that point to raise some money.”
The strike force continued throughout the years. However, according to Reynolds, the group really began to “flourish” in 2016 when Trump announced his candidacy. Reynolds’ group's main focus is battleground states, which looked very different before Trump’s first victory.
“I took 150 volunteers, paid for their lodging and transportation, and took them all to Florida,” Reynolds continued. “The RNC usually directed me to the locations that I needed to go. They still do that since they have all the data. So, they asked me if I would go to six cities in Florida. And I said, well, I’ve never done that before; I’ve usually gone to one at a time. Then again, In 2020, I took 100 to Florida. We only go to battleground states, and Florida is no longer a battleground state, so we won’t be going back there.”
This year, Reynolds has her eyes set on Pennsylvania after talking to the Trump team during the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee. She selected the state due to the historically close margins that have traditionally led to Democratic victories.
“We keep running two points behind there, and some of the other battleground states have actually picked up and are ahead, so I decided that Pennsylvania would be a good place to go," she explained. "So, I’m recruiting volunteers to go to Pennsylvania.”
Reynolds will join the group of volunteers in Pennsylvania for two trips planned from October 6-13 and October 30 through November 4. There, volunteers will begin hitting “leaning Republican” areas, collecting information and data from the voters for the Republican National Committee (RNC).
“There is criteria for going," Reynolds outlined. "Not just anybody can go. They have to be able to walk three to five miles a day, they have to be in good health, and they have to be able to use an app that can be downloaded to their phone because that’s what they use. We don’t just go knocking on doors. We go to specific doors that have already been identified by the RNC, and those are the ones that are leaning Republican. We go to those doors and gather information. The volunteers are all diligent. They’re there because they want to be. It’s not a vacation. There’s no pool time.”
“There is no compensation. My office is currently my kitchen table. You can’t eat off my table right now. I’ve got the buses locked down; it’s just a matter of how many I need.," she added.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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