On the 10th installment of the “Grand Old Podcast,” hosted by Alabama Republican Party Chairman Scott Stadthagen, Katherine Robertson said federal judges still look at Alabama through the 1960s and she intends to use a friendly Trump Justice Department to change that while it lasts.
“The state of Alabama is sort of viewed through a cynical perspective by federal judges because of our past, because of things that went on in Alabama in the ’60s and ’70s,” Robertson said. “That is not the Alabama for today.”
Robertson, chief counsel to Attorney General Steve Marshall, won the Republican nomination for attorney general in a June runoff with 55.1% of the vote. She faces Democrat Jeff McLaughlin, a former state representative from Guntersville, on November 3.
Robertson said she got in the race for one reason.
“I’ve been in the office for nearly a decade, serving Steve Marshall as his number two, and that office is such a complex place to work, but it is so critical to the kind of fights that Alabama wants to fight and win on,” she said. “It takes time for a new AG to learn that role. It took General Marshall and I several years to really wrap our arms around it, and I just don’t think our state or our nation is in a position to wait two or three years while somebody figures it out.”
“So we’ve already been able to start those conversations and transition planning and that kind of thing,” Robertson said. “But obviously, have one more hurdle to get through on November 3.”
Stadthagen asked about her relationships with the other Republican attorneys general and the office’s record of carrying Alabama’s laws to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The AG job, sometimes it’s a little bit you’re on an island by yourself, but also those relationships matter so much,” Robertson said. “When Alabama goes to fight a fight that’s going to end up in front of the United States Supreme Court, who better would you rather have on a brief with you than the other 26, 27 Republican AGs?”
“So what you’re saying is that office is not going to miss a beat,” Stadthagen said.
“No, no,” Robertson said. “Ramping up.”
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Stadthagen asked how many offices in Alabama could say they would not miss a beat after the election.
“I don’t think any right this second,” Robertson said.
Robertson is the third statewide nominee on the podcast in as many weeks, following U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise). Stadthagen told Moore he would be Alabama’s next U.S. senator. He sent Robertson off with the same message.
“Make sure Republicans show up, get out and vote for the right candidate, because as the viewers can also see, this office is extremely important to the state of Alabama, and I think you know exactly who we need to get behind,” Stadthagen said. “Look forward to voting for you November 3.”
Watch the full episode here. Also available on Spotify:
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
