By Brandon Moseley
Mike Durant is the latest candidate to get in the race for U.S. Senate and he is wasting no time testing the waters. On Thursday, Durant released a new ad attacking President Joseph R. Biden (D) and touting his own military experience. Durant also announced the hiring of a new campaign manager.
Ben Richardson most recently founded Arete Consulting, LLC, a business management and political consulting firm based in Montgomery. Prior to founding Arete Consulting, Richardson worked on numerous successful campaigns throughout Alabama, including managing Martha Roby’s 2018 campaign for Congress in Alabama’s Second Congressional District
Mike Durant is touting his experience serving in the U.S. Army during the “Black Hawk Down” battle (Operation Gothic Serpent) in Somalia during 1993 - the first year of the Clinton administration. In that battle in Mogadishu, Durant's helicopter was shot down and he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Somalis. Durant is also a successful businessman, father, and husband. He describes himself politically as a “Pro-Trump Conservative Republican.”
“President Trump did so much right. He took on China, cut taxes and strengthened our military,” Durant said. “And Joe Biden? I’m disappointed from the moment he gets up in the morning. Vaccine mandates, paying people not to work, a pathetic exit from Afghanistan.
”Washington is filled with career politicians who didn’t serve their country and never had a real job,” Durant concluded. “I’m running for U.S. Senate to change that.”
Incumbent Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) is retiring at the end of his sixth term. Durant faces a crowded U.S. Senate field for the open seat that includes: businesswoman Jessica Taylor, former Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard, Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL05), and former Business Council of Alabama President and CEO Katie Boyd Britt,
Both Brooks and Britt are claiming that they are leading in the polls, but Durant has not been in the campaign long; however those polls were done by their respective campaigns or their close allies.
Former Brighton Mayor Brandaun Dean is running for the Democratic party nomination for U.S. Senate.
The Republican primary is May 24, 2022.
