7 Things: White House won’t comment on Durham Trump-Russia revelations, new polling in Alabama statewide races and more …

7. Joe Biden is really not popular in Alabama, but West Virginia is worse

• Alabama Democrats already know they are fighting a huge uphill battle in statewide races and the few swing state house and senate races. The latest poll numbers for President Joe Biden in Alabama are making that fight much harder.
• The average of all the polls done by Real Clear Politics shows President Biden with an approval number slightly above 40%, but in Alabama, it is worse than that. He is sitting at 28% approval and 68% disapproval in the Yellowhammer State, but his number is even worse in West Virginia. 

6. New push to declare the coronavirus pandemic over

• Legislation has been introduced by U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) that would remove the national emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic, which would signal an end of the pandemic that started nearly two years ago.
• Marshall said that this is due to the decline of hospitalizations, rise of vaccinations and herd immunity, “mask mandates falling by the wayside, and 70% of Americans agreeing ‘it’s time we accept that COVID is here to stay’ and that ‘we just need to get on with our lives,’ it’s clear we need a new approach to COVID as we learn to live with it.”

5. Trump is helping advocate for Voter ID in Alabama

• Former President Donald Trump is assisting Alabama with its push for individuals registering to vote and obtaining a photo ID by being featured in a statewide ad. The ad campaign featuring Trump was announced by Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill.
• In the ad, Trump says, “[T]here are few issues facing our nation as important as election integrity and election fraud. This is why the people of the great state of Alabama must work together to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. So get out, register to vote, and get a photo ID so you can make your voice heard and decide the future of our great country. Thank you.”

4. Pre-K in Alabama needs more funding

• The Alabama School Readiness Alliance has said that the Alabama First Class Pre-K program needs additional funding if the program is going to stay on track with the plan to be able to enroll 70% of four-year-olds in the state in the program by the 2025-2026 school year.
• With the needed $22.5 million in funds, the program would be able to expand by 125 classrooms, and it would be offered to 45% of eligible children, instead of the current 42%. The First Class Pre-K program in Alabama has been nationally recognized for its excellence and benefits to students.

3. Brooks claims he’s the only conservative

• In his bid for U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has claimed that he is the only conservative candidate in the race at a campaign event in Scottsboro, but Brooks and fellow candidates Katie Britt and Mike Durant have all claimed to be the “political outsider” of the race.
• Brooks spoke about the race, saying, “We need people who are going to stand by their guns. And I will submit to you that I am the only conservative who is running in this race. And I believe I can establish that and back it up with evidence.” He went on to argue that because he’s the only candidate with a conservative voting record (since Britt and Durant have never held office), he’s the only conservative candidate.

2. Ivey has a strong lead in new polls

• New polling data has been released by the Alabama Farmers Federation’s (ALFA) FarmPAC that was taken from February 4-6 with a sample size of 600 Republican voters. The data shows that Governor Kay Ivey maintains a strong lead over fellow candidates. Ivey had 54.7%, while businessman Tim James was in second with 11.45%, and former U.S. ambassador to Slovenia Lindy Blanchard had only 9.79%, but there were 21.89% of voters still undecided. Other candidates who have qualified for the race were included, but none of them received more than 2%.
• This poll also shows the U.S. Senate race with U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) at 34%, former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) Katie Britt at 29% and former “Blackhawk Down” pilot Michael Durant at 24%. Both of these polls are similar, not identical, to numbers released last week.

1. The White House won’t address the Durham probe

• Special counsel John Durham has released a filing that shows there was an attempt to falsely tie former President Donald Trump to Russia by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, but the White House has made it clear that they will not address the issue.
• White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the report and said basically nothing. She replied, “I can’t speak to that report. I refer you to the Department of Justice.” The filing from Durham’s office said in the filing, “Tech Executive-1 and his associates exploited this arrangement by mining the EOP’s DNS traffic and other data for the purpose of gathering derogatory information about Donald Trump.”