7 Things: Brooks asks for Trump endorsement, leading Alabama Democrat says Britt is ‘pretty awesome’ and more …

7. Alabama recognized for economic development

• Alabama was recognized for economic development success and is set to receive the Silver Shovel Award from Area Development. Governor Kay Ivey’s office pointed to $7.7 billion in new capital investments in the state in 2021.

• Alabama Department of Commerce secretary Greg Canfield stated, “The overarching goal of Alabama’s economic development team is to spark the creation of good jobs and enhance opportunity throughout the state by strategically focusing on high-impact industries with solid growth prospects.”

6. Abbott Nutrition restarts production

• The baby formula factory in Michigan, Abbott Nutrition, has restarted production. Since the plant was shut down a few months ago, the formula shortage had only gotten increasingly worse.

• Abbott said it “will ramp production as quickly as we can while meeting all requirements.” The Food and Drug Administration had investigated the Abbott plant previously and found bacterial contamination, which resulted in the plant stopping production and closing.

5. Liberal DAs are the cause of rising crime

• In response to calls for gun control due to mass shootings and rising crime, U.S. Representative Steve Scalise (R-La.) questioned why there was an immediate reaction to taking away guns rather than identifying and dealing with the source of the issue.

• Scalise specifically said about rising crime, “If you look at what happened in those cities, you see a lot of things with the defund the police movement, with letting people out no cash bail, where they’re making it easier for people to commit crimes, look at the smash and grab crimes. Do you think it’s going to end there if they think they can get away with a crime?”

4. Biden shouldn’t be involved in gun control legislation

• As gun control legislation is expected to be presented and considered, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has said that President Joe Biden shouldn’t be involved in the legislation. Instead, according to Murphy, “the Senate needs to do this ourselves.”

• Murphy went on to mention, “There are more republicans at the table talking about changing our gun laws and investing in mental health than at any time since Sandy Hook.” He added, “Right now, people in this country want us to make progress, they just don’t want the status quo to continue for another 30 years.”

3. DeSantis beats Trump in new straw poll

• At the Western Conservative Summit, there was a straw poll taken by the Centennial Institute that showed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) would beat former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 presidential election.

• In the poll, respondents were allowed to select more than one candidate based on an “approval” system, and DeSantis won 71%, while Trump was at 67%. In the same poll in 2021, DeSantis won with 74% and Trump had 71%.

2. Outgoing Alabama Democrat leader says Britt was very helpful in 2017

• “Experts” now believe Katie Britt is in the driver’s seat in the U.S. Senate race. Former Senator Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) campaign manager Wade Perry told his Twitter followers that Britt was “pretty awesome,” adding that she was very helpful in getting Jones elected and “way better than Crazy MAGA Mo Brooks.”

• Perry isn’t the only Democrat establishment player pulling for Britt. Former U.S. Representative Parker Griffith (D-Huntsville) and radio host Robert Kennedy have called for Democrats to support her. Britt doesn’t need this help right now because she is up, but Democrat leaders saying things like, “[M]ost Dems understand she just has to ‘say’ certain things” to get elected won’t help her push back on framing that she is part of the swampy establishment.

1. Brooks lobbying for Trump’s re-endorsement

• In the U.S. Senate race, U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has started lobbying former President Donald Trump for his endorsement. Trump previously rescinded his endorsement of Brooks earlier this year, saying Mo Brooks was “woke,” but Brooks has headed into the runoff against leading U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt anyway.

• Brooks posted on social media, “Join me in asking President Trump to #ReEndorseMo so that we can send a message to Mitch McConnell by sending a real American First conservative to the Senate on June 21.” Britt has recently been endorsed by U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.