7 Things: Millions of dollars remain unspent in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race, mask mandate shot out of the sky and more …

7. People will still come to Alabama to do business

• While speaking to the Birmingham Business Alliance, Governor Kay Ivey discussed Alabama’s strong position with business in the state, saying, “Folks want to come to Alabama to do business in Birmingham.”
• Ivey went on to say, “[T]here may be a few naysayers who try to claim our Alabama way of life will steer companies away from our state. That is absolutely wrong, we want companies to come to Alabama to do business, not just politics, and that they are.” The state has recently reported an unemployment rate of 2.9%, which is tied with the lowest rate it’s ever been.

6. Lawmakers endorsing Gov. Kay Ivey

• In her bid for reelection, Governor Kay Ivey has received the endorsement of Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper), with Reed saying, “Ivey is a strong Governor and a great leader of our state – we’re lucky to have her.” This comes one week after picking up the endorsement of many legislators last week.
• Reed advised, “It’s clear that she is the best person for the job, and I look forward to supporting her in her re-election campaign. We’ve accomplished a lot, but there’s still work that needs to be done to help our state meet its full potential. With Governor Ivey at the helm, Alabama’s best days are still ahead of us.”

5. Ivey gleefully responds to attack by Maxine Waters

• Governor Kay Ivey recently released a campaign ad for her reelection bid where she said that as long as President Joe Biden “keeps shipping illegal immigrants into our states we’re all going to have to learn Spanish. My message to Biden: No way, Jose.” This was called racist and ignorant by an expert on those matters — U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).
• Understanding that this will help her greatly, Ivey responded to Waters’ comments by saying, “There’s nothing racist with telling the truth about the disaster Joe Biden is causing with illegals invading our country. I’m not going to be lectured by a liberal Congresswoman from California. We’ll handle our business in Alabama.”

4. Lawsuit over transgender medical treatments dropped

• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has confirmed that the lawsuit against the “Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act,” which relates to some medical treatments and medications for transgender minors in the state, has been dropped. One of the lawyers for a family challenging the law says he will refile.
• Marshall stated, “Despite those demands for immediate judicial intervention…the Plaintiffs in both cases voluntarily and simultaneously dismissed their lawsuits. I’m grateful for the work my team has done to defend this important law and the children it defends.”

3. Biden reiterates that we will not be sending troops to Ukraine

• Sunday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) appeared to start a push for American troops to enter the fight against Russia on the ground in Ukraine. On Monday, the Biden administration looked to throw cold water on that idea.
• The White House said it disagreed with Coons with press secretary Jen Psaki telling reporters, “Senator Coons is a close friend of the president’s and the administration, and we just respectfully disagree with his proposal.” This is not a new position for President Joe Biden, but Coons is a Biden ally and a high-ranking senator, so the White House had to respond.

2. Federal mask mandate has been blocked by federal judge

• U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has blocked President Joe Biden’s federal mask mandate for travel through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was determined through Mizelle’s ruling that the mandate violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Mizelle concluded that the mandate was made beyond the CDC’s authority, noting that the statute that allowed the mandate “indicates that ‘sanitation’ and ‘other measures’ refer to measures that clean something, not ones that keep something clean. Wearing a mask cleans nothing.”

1. Durant leading in contributions due entirely to his own funds

• In the U.S. Senate race in Alabama, candidate Mike Durant is leading in contributions after loaning his campaign $2.65 million in personal funds. The reported contributions span from January 1 to March 31. At the end of the period, Durant had $4.096 million.
• While Durant has loaned his campaign millions, he leads the race with $4.096 million in the cash-on-hand category heading into the final stretch, Britt is second with $3.228 million at the end of March, while U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) trails with $1.570 million.