Three months before the primary that could decide Alabama’s next U.S. senator and governor, the state Republican party held its winter meeting in Birmingham this morning.
It was a chance for Republican Senate candidates Katie Britt, Mo Brooks, and Mike Durant to connect with the audience of more than 250 members of the state executive committee, made up of Republican leaders from every county.
State Republican Party Chair John Wahl introduced the candidates in alphabetical order, and they took the stage for about 5 to 10 minutes each. The candidates did not mention each other.
Before Britt spoke, she confirmed reports that she and her husband Wesley met with former President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida this week, a story that came out in news reports over the last couple of days. Trump has endorsed Brooks in the Senate race.
“We really enjoyed meeting with him, and we got to have a great conversation,” Britt said.
Asked what they talked about with the former president, Britt said it was a private conversation
“We appreciated the opportunity to talk to him and update him on the race,” Britt said.
During her remarks later from the podium, Britt did not mention meeting with Trump. She praised Trump for what she said was his strength as a commander in chief, comparing him to Ronald Reagan. She contrasted that with what she called weakness from President Biden.
“We saw Reagan preach peace through strength. We saw Donald Trump practice it. There is a reason we did not get any new wars during Trump’s presidency. And that is because of the strength and the position he put this great nation in,” Britt said.
Brooks, asked about the Britt meeting, said Trump remains committed to his endorsement. Brooks said Trump is planning a fundraiser for him at Mar-a-Lago. He questioned whether Britt’s meeting with Trump was substantive.
Related: Brooks says Britt’s campaign peddling ‘false narrative’ that Trump is waffling on support in Alabama senate race
Later, speaking from the podium, Brooks read words of praise he has received from Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, and Trump advisor Stephen Miller, an effort to confirm his credentials as a conservative who will fight for the Trump agenda.
“You’re going to hear a lot of things from a lot of candidates in a lot of races,” Brooks said. “The challenge is figuring out which one really means it. The challenge is figuring out from those words how that person is going to conduct themselves in public office.
“So instead of relying on my words, I hope you rely on other’s words. I hope you’ll look at my voting record in particular.”
Durant, a former U.S. Army aviator who was shot down and taken captive during the incident depicted in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down,” talked about fighting back from the injuries he suffered to fly Army helicopters for six more years. He talked about starting a business that grew to 500 employees after he retired from the Army, a company that he recently sold to his employees.
He pitched his credentials as a proven achiever from outside the political establishment.
“I am again offering you the non-career politician, the business owner, the veteran, the option that I think most Americans are looking for,” Durant said. “That’s why President Trump won. That’s why Senator Tuberville won. We are the outsiders. We know what’s right for America based on our experiences. We care about this country, we want to make a difference.”
After the Senate candidates, three of the Republican candidates for governor spoke to the gathering — Lindy Blanchard, Tim James, and Dean Young.
The campaign speeches came during a luncheon to conclude the state GOP meeting at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. Campaign signs lined the walls of the banquet room and the hallways, and candidates set up to tables to hand out bumper stickers and flyers.
The state committee approved three of four resolutions on the agenda:
- By a margin of 89% to 11%, with 256 members voting, to support a school choice bill in the Alabama Legislature that would give parents a portion of school tax dollars they could use for their child’s education at somewhere other than the public school where they are zoned.
- By a margin of 85% to 15%, with 265 members voting, to urge Gov. Kay Ivey to issue an executive order forbidding mask mandates in Alabama public schools.
- By a margin of 86% to 14%, with 255 members voting, to support legislation to try to stop the use of the American School Counselors Association national model in Alabama public schools, which the resolution claims tries to “indoctrinate” students on issues such as “diversity, equity, and same-sex marriage” without the knowledge of parents.
The committee declined to vote on a resolution calling for repeal of parts of the medical marijuana law passed by the Legislature last year. A motion to table consideration of that was approved 63% to 37%, with 256 members voting.
One proposed resolution was not heard.
Governor candidate Young wanted the committee to publicly censure Ivey for what he said was breaking her promise to use her office to promote displays of the Ten Commandments after 72% of voters approved a constitutional amendment supporting displays in public schools and other state buildings in 2018.
Related: Candidate Dean Young says Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey lied about Ten Commandments commitment
A committee member was at the front of the banquet room prepared to introduce Young’s resolution under the new business portion of the agenda. But there was an abrupt call to adjourn before that could happen, shortly before noon.
The committee approved the motion to adjourn 53% to 47%.
Young, who said he has been fighting for issues like the Ten Commandments and school prayer for 30 years, said the move to block the censure resolution raised concerns about what he called the Republican establishment.
“This is not new to me,” Young said. “What is interesting is what I’m seeing in the Republican Party, like this morning. Because the Republican Party is supposed to be a party that believes in God.”
Vicki Drummond, the National Committeewoman for the state GOP, talked to the members about the Republican National Committee’s plans to stop participating in debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Drummond said the debate commission has not been responsive to the RNC’s concerns about fair moderators and timing. Drummond said the public has responded favorably to the plans for Republican candidates to not participate in debates sponsored by the commission.
The commission has sponsored ever presidential debate since it was founded in 1987.
