U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) hit the campaign trail on Alabama’s Gulf Coast Friday to boost State Rep. Rhett Marques’ bid for Congress.
In a joint appearance this afternoon, Britt heralded the Wiregrass businessman as the “America First winner” conservatives need to send to Washington.
Britt and Marques appeared together at The Wharf in Orange Beach for a press availability before hosting a roundtable with Baldwin County community leaders on regional priorities, including the economy, infrastructure, and public safety.
The stop marked Britt’s first in-person campaign event with Marques since she endorsed him and maxed out to his congressional campaign earlier this year.
“Rhett Marques has my endorsement because he is the America First winner that Alabama’s First Congressional District needs fighting for them,” Britt said.
“He is a strong supporter of President Trump and will always defend our Christian conservative values, champion our priorities, and elevate our people. I am excited to campaign with Rhett in his native Baldwin County and hear from local leaders about the challenges and opportunities they’re facing. Together, we will ensure families across our great state can achieve their American Dream for generations to come.”
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Britt said her decision to weigh into the 2026 GOP primary in Alabama’s 1st District comes down to building a reliable conservative team around President Donald Trump.
“I have learned firsthand in D.C. that one person can’t do it all, and you’ve got to build out a team that knows what’s at stake, that’s willing to fight for it, and willing to put in the work to make it happen,” she said. “So when I look at what is best for the district and for the state and for the nation moving forward, having someone like Rhett – look at his leadership during COVID, making sure he was pushing back at government overreach.
“Small business owner himself, he understands that the best thing the government can do in most every situation is get out of the way and [he’s] working diligently to put money back in taxpayers’ pockets,” Britt continued. “We need somebody that’s willing to do that for the long haul. Having House colleagues that are willing to be in lockstep with that – fighting for President Trump, fighting in this moment in time to take our country back – I am excited to have Rhett and looking forward to get him to D.C. so we can get to work.”
Britt said days like Friday, campaigning but also listening, are what separates real representation from D.C. careerism.
“Too often we have people that go to D.C. who think that they all of a sudden have all of the answers,” she said. “Making sure that you’re connected to the people at home, that you are listening to the problems in front of them, the challenges and the opportunities, and that you’re being a part of hitting both of those things head on, I think, is critically important for any leader.
“That’s what I know Rhett will continue to do, and to have someone like him working alongside me and the others in the Alabama delegation – the possibilities are endless,” Britt added.
“We’ve got to make sure that we are driving down costs for Americans, making life more affordable for Alabamians, rolling back regulation and actually making things happen. We need someone that is willing to fight and willing to actually get things done, and that’s Rhett. I’m excited to campaign with him today. I’m excited to get him up to D.C., because I know the possibilities are endless for this region, for our state and for the country with the two of us working together.”
For Marques, the event was a homecoming as much as a campaign stop.
Born in Spanish Fort and a graduate of Fairhope High School, the Enterprise lawmaker grew up in Baldwin County before building a successful tire and automotive business in the Wiregrass.
“First of all, it’s great to be back in my home county of Baldwin,” Marques said. “I grew up here and love this county and everybody in it, and it’s good to be with the community leaders and the local elected officials to discuss the issues at hand. But I’m running for one thing – America First. I’m going to support President Trump’s agenda, to help Senator Britt and the rest of the Alabama delegation to move Alabama forward and make sure that their priorities, needs and values are taken care of.”
Marques said the endorsement from Britt – including her early maximum contribution from the Alabama First leadership PAC – gave his campaign immediate momentum.
“When I announced, I was actually here at The Wharf having a kickoff event and a meet and greet,” he recalled.
“Senator Britt called and told me that she was going to endorse us and contribute to our campaign. To say that I was excited is an understatement. I think I said something like, ‘Well, Senator, you put your money where your mouth was.’
“Senator Britt is a rock star in Washington, D.C. We all know that. She is wildly popular here in the state of Alabama, and the reason for that is because she’s a fighter. She fights for America, and she fights for Alabama.”
On policy, Marques says he intends to “scale up” the conservative results he touts from the legislature – especially on tax relief and cutting red tape for small businesses – to the federal level.
“Just like we have done here in Alabama, I want to work to cut taxes on American families,” he said. “We’ve cut taxes here in Alabama over the last seven years by $1.5 billion, and that is important to put the money back into the pockets of those citizens that need it. We protected our families. We protected our children, and Senator Britt has led the way to make sure in Washington that we did that throughout the nation.
“It’s important to us to make sure that we support our military, we support our law enforcement and our veterans, and cut any unnecessary red tape on small businesses,” Marques added. “As a small business owner myself, I know how hard it is to make it and to make ends meet. We need to not overregulate them. We need to let them survive and work hard and do the best for their families.”
In the House, Marques has backed major tax relief measures backed by Alabama Republicans, including the phased reduction of the state grocery tax, elimination of the state sales tax on diapers and baby supplies, and expanded income tax relief for retirees.
Marques is running in the 2026 Republican primary for Alabama’s First Congressional District, a coastal-to-Wiregrass seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), who is running statewide for the first time in a bid for U.S. Senate.
Jerry Carl, who represented the 1st District from 2021 to 2025 and lost his seat to Moore following a court-ordered redistricting and a rare incumbent-vs.-incumbent primary, is running for his old seat.
Marques said his background – born on the coast, raising a family and running a business in the Wiregrass – uniquely prepares him to represent the re-drawn district that now stretches “from the peanut fields to the beaches.”
He described Friday’s event as a chance to show Baldwin County voters he hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
“I am proud to have been born and raised in Baldwin County, and I’m very close to my family who still live there today,” Marques has said of his ties to the district. “I have a love for the First Congressional District that lies in my passion for and understanding of the Wiregrass region where I live today and for the coastal area where I was born and where my roots run deep.”
Britt, for her part, made clear she sees Marques as a key ally in both advancing President Trump’s agenda and fighting the Biden administration’s policies from the House side of Capitol Hill.
“We’ve got a lot ahead of us,” she said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we are driving down cost for Americans, make sure that life is more affordable for Alabamians, we’ve got to make sure that we’re rolling back regulation and that we are actually making things happen. And we need someone that is willing to fight and willing to actually get things done, and that’s Rhett,” Britt said.
“I know the possibilities are endless for this region, for our state and for the country with the two of us working together.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
