The "Mighty Alabama Strike Force" may have made the difference in the Georgia presidential results in 2024, knocking on enough doors to turn the state around. A Trump loss in Georgia in 2020 became a Trump victory in 2024.
Now, the strike force is considering a return work visit to the Peach State to help take back a Georgia U.S. Senate seat that is up for election in 2026.
Georgia may be a key battleground for control of the U.S. Senate in the 2026 mid-term elections. Democrats and their legacy media allies desperately want to retake control, while Republicans need to maintain and grow their control. Focus: Georgia.
The difference in who controls the Senate is more than just a scorecard. The U.S. Senate confirms or blocks Trump's appointments under the U.S. Constitution's "advise and consent" provision. Right now, the tiny GOP majority in the Senate (53-47) is confirming Trump cabinet appointments and others that require Senate approval. The margins are slim, and the confirmations have come after major fights and some delays. It has not been easy. Not all Republicans are on board with the Trump agenda, so there is little room to lose precious GOP votes.
Two years from now, as Trump enters his last two years in office, he will still need a working Senate majority, especially if there are vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump already appointed three justices to SCOTUS in his first term, and they have made a difference. (Example: Overturning Roe v. Wade and returning the abortion issue to the states.)
With aging Supreme Court justices, it is vital for the GOP to maintain a working majority in the U.S. Senate. Another one to three Trump appointments to the high court could safeguard the Trump legacy for a generation— or longer.
National Republicans and the Mighty Alabama Strike Force have their eyes on the Senate seat held by Georgia Democrat Jon Ossof, who is considered vulnerable. Many think that Ossof is an accidental senator, elected only by a perfect storm of problems with negative media, outside liberals and a peculiar Georgia system for a runoff in the general election.
A big question mark is – which Republican will take off against Ossof? Prominently mentioned is the popular term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp. He has name ID, funding, organization and favorability.
The earlier criticisms of Kemp from the Trump team about the 2020 Georgia election process appear to be a thing of the past. Kemp supported Trump in 2024, Trump carried Georgia, and the questions about the Georgia election process did not re-surface.
"We need to flip that seat. We should have a Republican in that seat, and I believe we'll have one after the '26 election," Kemp said in a Fox News interview.
Kemp is busy right now doing his present job. Georgia's important legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on April 4, and a Kemp announcement could follow that.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP's campaign arm, has said that Kemp is a top recruit and hopes the governor will run.
While the Georgia senate race draws closer and the candidates announce, the Mighty Alabama Strike Force will start getting ready (again). The group is headed by long-time GOP activist Joan Reynolds of Shelby County. She has been organizing volunteer teams for 16 years.
Reynolds started it all in 2008. The workers are not paid, but their lodging, transportation and meals are paid through donations from the Alabama Federation of Republican Women, the Alabama GOP and many other donors.
The 2024 Georgia campaigners from Alabama's strike force totaled about 150 workers on two week-long work trips.
It is not set in stone, or Stone Mountain, that Georgia will be the battlefield of choice for Alabama's strike force in 2026 — just likely. In the past, Alabama's strike force has gone to Virginia, where they helped elect Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and Florida, which was still a battleground state before turning solidly GOP.
RELATED: Virginia's gubernatorial race was first victory for Alabama GOP's Restore America plan
National Republicans will target other U.S. Senate seats up in 2026. But Georgia has a vulnerable seat. Georgia is next door to Alabama and is quicker and easier to get to. Travel expenses to Georgia are cheaper.
So, it is possible that the Mighty Alabama Strike Force will return to Georgia and try again to make a difference, this time in maintaining Republican control of the U.S. Senate.
"Georgia on my mind."
Jim' Zig' Zeigler writes about Alabama's people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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