In the 2016 presidential election, Cullman County went for 88% for Donald Trump and 10% for Hillary Clinton. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump matched that same margin in Cullman County against Joe Biden.
Both of those elections put Cullman County in the category of the most pro-Trump counties in the country, with Cullman County being only second to its western neighbor, Winston County. Given that strong showing by the former president in those two elections, Trump is expected to get a positive reception when he visits Cullman on August 21.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5, State Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) said he was pleased Trump was coming and noted it had been several decades since someone who served as President of the United States last visited his hometown.
“First of all, we’re thankful we have a small town and community that is a good location for any former president to come and be able to give their speeches,” he said. “And so from that, they’re going to be coming on August 21. We’re trying to get everyone on the local level — local EMTs, EMS, fire and police prepared for it. It should be a big event for the economic impact to Cullman, Alabama.”
According to Gudger, Reagan was the last president to visit Cullman. His visit came in the 1970s, prior to winning the presidency in 1980 against Jimmy Carter.
“Not at this scale,” he replied. “We’re blessed to have had some great governors in the past from ‘Big’ Jim Folsom to Governor [Guy] Hunt, and you go right past that to ‘Little’ Jim Folsom. We’ve had some great governors come this part of the area, but as far as a president, we haven’t. And the last time a president showed up in Cullman, Alabama was when Ronald Reagan was planning on coming to an elementary school in the late 70s, which he showed up — so around 50 years ago.”
The Cullman County lawmaker touted Trump’s political successes in the area and vowed local officials would do everything they could to be prepared for the big event.
“[T]his is Trump country up here,” Gudger explained. “Ninety percent of the people who voted voted for Trump. It was the second-highest county per capita that voted for Trump in the nation, and the number one county that voted highest per capita is right next door to us, Winston County. So this should be right in the heart of Trumpland, as you just said.”
“[W]e’re a smaller community, so something on this scale is a little bit over what we’re used to handling,” he added. “From that, we are excited. We’re going to do everything we can to be prepared and be the most prepared that when he comes and when the people come because that’s going to be the biggest issue — making sure we get people in and out of the venue, making sure everything is safe, making sure everything is still well-lit, and we show off Cullman to the best of our ability because we love our community and are very proud of our community.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
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