According to newly released polling commissioned by ForestPAC, the political arm of the Alabama Forestry Association, former Business Council of Alabama head Katie Britt continues to lead the hotly contested U.S. Senate GOP primary race.
The poll, which was published Friday, was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates May 9-12 and consisted of 500 likely Republican primary voters. Respondents were interviewed evenly between landline, cellphone and text message.
Poll results are as follows:
- Katie Britt — 37.0%
- Mike Durant — 30.6%
- Mo Brooks — 20.6%
- Undecided — 11.8%
While largely mirroring a survey conducted by the same polling firm last week, the results suggest that the race is continuing to experience a significant amount of volatility. The race has seen an abnormal amount of polling shifts and momentum swings from all three candidates.
In the early stages of the race, prior to Durant’s entry, polling suggested that Brooks held a 43-point lead over Britt. In the months that followed, however, the race tightened after Britt’s campaign caught steam and the former “Black Hawk Down” pilot launched his candidacy.
Brooks’ lead took a swift downhill turn shortly after as he lagged behind in the fundraising battle and was being outspent by a significant margin. The North Alabama congressman’s numbers continued to slide after he lost the support of former President Donald Trump.
Fast forward to mid-March, polling showed Durant had taken the lead for the first time. After sustaining a barrage of negative ads against his candidacy for nearly two months, Durant’s lead slipped in favor of Britt. Brooks now continues to hold steady around the 20-point range.
Regarding Alabama’s gubernatorial primary race, the ForestPAC-commissioned poll shows Gov. Kay Ivey narrowly avoiding a runoff election.
Poll results are as follows:
- Kay Ivey — 51.8%
- Tim James — 15.2%
- Lindy Blanchard — 15.0%
- Lew Burdette — 8.0%
- Dean Odle — 3.2%
- Undecided — 6.8%
It is noteworthy that the incumbent governor continues to earn a majority of the support among the Republican electorate even as she has sustained a bombardment of attack ads from her opponents, namely James and Blanchard.
According to the poll, the negative ad campaign against Ivey has yet to take her below the 50% threshold.
Perhaps one of the most significant takeaways from the survey is that Burdette, former CEO of Books-A-Million, continues to experience an upward trend in the polls.
The primary election will take place May 24, 2022. If no candidate receives a plurality of all votes cast, a runoff election will be held June 21, 2022.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
