MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI/WBMA) — Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama will be delivering the Republican party’s rebuttal following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday night.
Britt was sworn in as Alabama’s first elected female senator in 2023 and is the youngest Republican woman to ever serve in the Senate. Gov. Kay Ivey said she will also be the first person from the state to provide the response to a State of the Union.
“I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity to speak directly to my fellow Americans and have a candid conversation about the future of our nation,” Britt stated in a release last week. “The Republican Party is the party of hardworking parents and families, and I’m looking forward to putting this critical perspective front and center. There is no doubt that President Biden’s failed presidency has made America weaker and more vulnerable at every turn. At this decisive moment in our country’s history, it’s time for the next generation to step up and preserve the American Dream for our children and our grandchildren.”
Since she began in politics, it didn’t take Britt long to find herself on a handful of committees touching everything from commerce and justice to science, health and education.
“She has made almost no missteps since she got elected to the Senate,” said political columnist and writer Quin Hillyer. “She has probably been the single best communicator Republicans have found in the last decade in either the house of the Senate.”
Hillyer said he knew right away Britt was a standout, and he isn’t shy about saying why.
What Katie Britt does that too many Republicans have forgotten how to do is she knows how to bring important issues down to the kitchen counter level,” he said. “She talks about how the issues affect ordinary Americans in their daily lives.”
Her party is noticing, too, he said.
“Republican leaders have recognized that, which is why they’re choosing her to give this response,” said Hillyer.
Hillyer said her brand of politics is needed in the Republican party.
The area where Republicans in general and Trump in particular have done really badly in the last 15 years or so is appealing to suburban women,” he said. “They used to do well with suburban women. Last 15 years, not so much.”
Hillyer added that he’d be surprised if the choice was not cleared by former President Donald Trump.
“I’m not saying Trump made the choice, but I feel very, very sure that the House and Senate Republican leaders did not make the choice without running it up the flagpole with Trump,” he said.
Hillyer believes Britt’s address might also be a wakeup call for how others run their own campaigns.
“Katie Britt doesn’t scare anybody in a bad way,” he said. “She doesn’t scare voters, she attracts voters.”
