According to Perry Hooper, who was the previous chair of the Trump Victory Fund and a former State Representative, former President Donald Trump (R) has shelved plans to come to Alabama before summer and likely will not endorse anyone in the U.S. Senate race, the Governor’s race or the hotly contested Fifth Congressional District race before the May 24 Republican primary.
Hooper met with Trump recently at Trump’s resort in Mar-a-Lago, Fla. Hooper said that plans for Trump to come to Birmingham before the primary were shelved due to street closings in preparation for the coming World Games. Plans for a rally in Mobile on June 4 or May 28 have also been pushed back. Hooper would not, however, definitively say that the President will not come to Alabama before the anticipated Jun 21 Republican primary runoff.
“President Trump loves Alabama, and Alabama loves President Trump,” Hooper said. “Several tentative rallies in Alabama have been postponed as President Trump has been traveling the country and speaking where his impact is needed the most. He has been doing everything in his power to assure that RINOs [a euphemism for moderate Republicans and centrists running in a Republican primary meaning 'Republicans in name only'] fail in primaries against true America First patriots.”
In the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald J. Trump (R) received 62.0 percent of the vote in the state of Alabama to Joseph R. Biden’s 36.6%. Former President Trump remains popular in Alabama. Despite this, Trump presently has no endorsed candidates in any of the major races on the Alabama Republican primary ballot on May 24.
Trump had previously endorsed Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL05) in his bid to become Alabama’s next U.S. Senator. Trump later withdrew that endorsement after Brooks dropped in the polls to third place. Trump has since met with both Mike Durant and Katie Boyd Britt but has not yet made an endorsement in the Senate race.
Lindy Blanchard served as Trump’s U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia, and there was wide speculation that Trump would endorse Blanchard in her bid to be Alabama’s next governor. Trump has not done that, and he has not endorsed incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey (R).
Gubernatorial candidate Tim James (R) said recently that he has met with Trump and that he did not expect Trump to make an endorsement in the governor’s race. There are nine Republicans running in the gubernatorial primary race.
Andy Blalock, John Roberts, Paul Sanford, Dale Strong, Casey Wardynski, and Harrison Wright are all running for the open Fifth Congressional District seat that Brooks is giving up in his run for Senate. Wardynski served in Trump’s administration as the Assistant Secretary of the Army in charge of manpower. He has not gotten the Trump endorsement, and it does not appear that Trump will make an endorsement in this race either.
“The power of his endorsements in Republican primaries is unprecedented,” Hooper said. “Thirty-nine out of forty of his endorsed candidates have won. I believe that he is waiting for the 'all but certain' Republican runoff elections to plan a trip to Alabama where his endorsement may well decide the runoff races.”
Donald J. Trump was elected in 2016 and served as President of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
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