Crimson tide: Trump scores sweep of House GOP delegation in Alabama
Former President Donald Trump has won the support of the entire Republican Alabama U.S. House delegation as well as five statewide elected officials, extending his commanding lead over his primary rivals in endorsements.
The campaign announced the endorsements one day after Trump was arraigned on federal charges tied to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Despite Trump’s mounting legal problems — he has now been indicted three times, and faces a possible fourth — he has continued to win support of Republican lawmakers, many of whom have vocally defended him.
Trump is set to make an appearance at the Alabama Republican Party dinner on Friday evening in Montgomery. He has received the support of all six Alabama GOP House members: Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers, Gary Palmer, Barry Moore and Dale Strong. He also has endorsements from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate, and all three members of the Alabama Public Service Commission. The state’s junior senator, Katie Britt, has not yet endorsed in the race. Nor has the governor, Kay Ivey.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s leading primary opponent, has the support of Alabama’s state auditor, Andrew Sorrell.
Trump has made a point of winning over congressional lawmakers as he eyes a return to the White House. To date, he has received the backing of more than 80 members of the House and Senate. DeSantis has five. Trump personally phoned the Alabama members over the past week and is expected to greet each of them during his visit to the state on Friday.
Brian Jack, Trump’s former White House political director, has been leading the state-by-state endorsement push. He was assisted in Alabama by Cliff Sims, an Alabama native and former Trump administration official.
Alabama has symbolic importance to Trump: During his first run for president in 2015, he held the first of his now trademark rallies in Mobile. The event drew an estimated 30,000 people. In a return to the state in 2016, he received the endorsement from then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.); a major signal of support from an elected official at a time when Trump was still considered an insurgent.
The state — which shares a border with Florida, where both Trump and DeSantis are based — could also play an important role in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. It has the fifth-highest number of delegates among the dozen-plus states that are expected to vote on Super Tuesday.