Alabama’s 2022 race for the U.S. Senate has began to intensify as the candidates are battling for positioning headed into the Republican primary election in late May.
Tuesday morning saw South Alabama businesswoman Jessica Taylor announce her withdrawal from the race and simultaneously endorse the candidacy of U.S. Army veteran Mike Durant.
Taylor for months has consistently polled under 5%, while Durant’s stock has increasingly risen since his mid-October entry into what was then a five-candidate field.
Durant has enjoyed the benefit of being a first-time candidate, something that his campaign has taken advantage of from a messaging standpoint. While having never run for public office, Durant has benefitted from holding name identification stemming from his prior military service, which led to the inspiration for the film “Black Hawk Down.”
As he is set to launch his “Alabama First” campaign tour this week, Durant’s first stops will include the state’s Wiregrass region, which is the home area of former Business Council of Alabama (BCA) CEO Katie Britt.
Since entering the race, Britt has emerged as the field’s leader in the fundraising battle by a significant margin. Her fundraising successes were accompanied by a boost in polling as she demonstrated the ability to trim the lead of U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), who holds the strongest name identification of any candidate in the field.
Brooks enjoyed a substantial polling lead in the initial stages of the race. However, upon Britt’s entry into the race, polling began to indicate that she was gaining traction with the Republican electorate.
A series of polling data made available late last year showed that Britt was within the margin of error of overtaking Brooks as the leading candidate. An internal survey released by the Britt campaign in mid-December showed the first-time candidate leading the North Alabama congressman.
As Taylor announced her exit from the race and her endorsement of Durant, she took aim at the leading candidates.
The former U.S. Senate candidate seemingly labeled Brooks as a “career politician,” while tagging Britt with the moniker of “Common Core Katie.” The shot at Britt was an apparent jab at the candidate due to her former service as head of BCA, an organization that promotes adherence to the Obama-era federal educational standards.
“When I first got in this race it was because I didn’t want Mo of the same from typical career politicians who don’t get it done,” proclaimed Taylor. “And most of all, I didn’t want Common Core Katie to inherit the seat as she is the definition of a RINO and everything true conservatives are against. The big spending and catering to special interests has to stop. Katie will be Alabama’s Liz Cheney.”
While on the campaign trail, Britt has consistently advocated for returning educational curriculum control back into the hands of localities, which stands in conflict with BCA’s stance on the issue.
In response to the charges levied by Taylor, Britt campaign spokesman Sean Ross placed the Durant campaign in the crosshairs for its use of Britt’s “Alabama First” campaign slogan.
“Katie is surging in the polls because Alabamians know that she is the best candidate to protect our Christian conservative values, preserve the American Dream and fight back against Joe Biden’s radical agenda,” Ross asserted in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “She has already visited all 67 counties on the campaign trail and is proud to be the strong grassroots conservative in this race.”
Ross added, “It is clear that her message is resonating, which is why one of her opponents has even started using her campaign slogan. Alabamians want fresh blood to shake things up, not another ineffective career politician. Katie will always put Alabama and America first instead of the Washington special interests supporting her opponents.”
While Brooks has fallen behind Britt in fundraising, his campaign has demonstrated the ability to garner support from national leaders of the conservative movement. The congressman also holds the highly sought-after endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Will Hampson, spokesman for the Brooks campaign, provided a statement to Yellowhammer News in which he declared Brooks to be the field’s sole “conservative” and “outsider” due to Taylor’s exit from the race.
“Jessica Taylor’s dropping out is GREAT news because that means Mo Brooks is now clearly the only conservative and only outsider in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race,” stated Hampson. “Congressman Mo Brooks welcomes endorsement discussions that highlight the endorsements Mo Brooks has received from President Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservative Fund, the National Association for Gun Rights, and conservative thought leaders like Mark Levin, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller, plus thousands of grassroots MAGA patriots. That’s why we are going to win.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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