The Rubio campaign is making a serious play to win Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is riding high after a standout performance in the most recent GOP debate, and his campaign’s latest moves in Alabama — both publicly and behind the scenes — signal plans to parlay his rise into a campaign machine that can win in the Yellowhammer State and all across SEC country.

The Rubio campaign announced Friday that former Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead and State Rep. Will Ainsworth (R-Guntersville) will serve as campaign co-chairmen.

“If we continue to elect the leaders of yesterday, Washington will never change and that’s why I proudly support Marco Rubio,” said Ainsworth. “Marco’s plan for a New American Economy will create jobs and ensure that our country remains vibrant in the 21st Century.”

Ainsworth operates the nationally-known Dream Ranch hunting and fishing lodge in Guntersville. His business interests also includes a commercial cattle operation and the Tennessee Valley Hunting and Fishing Expo, one of the world’s largest events of its kind. He was elected to the Alabama legislature in 2014.

The 34-year-old Ainsworth has quickly gained a reputation on Goat Hill for being a hard-working — and sometimes hard-charging — legislator who’s not interested in waiting “his turn,” making him a natural fit for the next-generation campaign Rubio is running. Ainsworth’s father, Billy, is the CEO of Progress Rail Services, one of the world’s largest diversified suppliers of railroad and transit system products. The family’s business and political connections will prove invaluable for the Rubio campaign in Alabama and beyond.

Armistead, a former state senator, also built a statewide network of donors and activists during his time as state party chairman.

“Sen. Rubio’s campaign is about the future of America. (He) is a generational leader with an optimistic message,” said Armistead. “I’m excited about working with Senator Rubio to ensure that he wins Alabama.”

The Rubio campaign’s fundraising challenges in Alabama have to this point been very similar to what they have faced nationally. The Bush family has maintained a vast donor web in Alabama, led by a handful of Bush “Pioneers” and “Rangers,” major donors known as “bundlers” who tapped their spheres of influence to raise money on behalf of George W. Bush’s campaigns. Jeb Bush has continued that approach with three levels of bundlers — “Apollo, Endeavor and Voyager” — with targets ranging from $75,000 to $250,000.

But with Bush faltering, the Rubio campaign is seeking to to gobble up the financial backing that once would have flowed toward their Florida rival.

The campaign did not publicly announce its Alabama finance team on Friday, but Yellowhammer sources mentioned several individuals who, once announced, could have the ability to shake up the state’s fundraising landscape.

The most recent quarterly fundraising numbers in Alabama revealed that Rubio only raised $7,837 in the past three months, the ninth most among GOP candidates. For comparison, Ben Carson raised $215k, followed by Bush ($164k), Ted Cruz ($105k) and Mike Huckabee ($20k).

Carson has been seemingly omnipresent in Alabama this year, speaking at countless events and attending church services around the state. The Cruz campaign has built out an impressive grassroots organization with an unrivaled ability to raise huge sums from small donors. And Huckabee still maintains a lot of support among Alabama’s large evangelical population, who propelled him to victory in the 2008 primary.

But Rubio, who is running a very lean organization, appears ready to fill the fundraising void being left by Bush. If the campaign can simultaneously build out a grassroots organization to compete with Cruz, they will be well positioned to compete to win Alabama when the March 1st SEC Primary rolls around.

“A lot of people are just not convinced that Trump and Carson are going to be able to carry this thing all the way through the primary process,” said one prominent Rubio supporter, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the campaign. “Bush is falling apart — imploding. So when you look past those three, your options really come down to Cruz and Rubio, right? Both of them impressed in the CNBC debate. Do not underestimate Cruz. He’s tapping into the same frustration as Trump, but he’s actually building a serious campaign apparatus where Trump is just having fun. But Rubio, to me, looks like the one who can bring the party together. His lifetime voting record with the American Conservative Union is 98, with Heritage it’s 90. The more Alabama gets to know this guy, the more they’re going to like him.”