Trump to Remain Neutral in Alabama Senate Race

Donald Trump is almost certain  to remain neutral in Alabama's Republican primary for U.S. Senator next year, sources close to the former president told Newsmax.

The reason, the same sources say, is that the two major contenders for the seat of retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. — six-term Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and former U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard — both are fiercely committed Trump Republicans.

Two days after Brooks entered the Republican primary for Shelby's seat, the conservative swashbuckler and six-term congressman left little doubt as to how he would campaign. 

Brooks, 66, made his candidacy official Monday at the Bullet & Barrel Gun Range in his hometown of Huntsville, where he was flanked by former Trump White House advisor and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller.

"[As] President Trump can vouch, I don't cut and run," Brooks told a wildly cheering crowd of hundreds. "I stand strong when the going gets tough."

Brooks perhaps is best-known nationwide for his controversial call on Trump supporters to "start taking down names and kicking ass" at a rally that preceded the violence at the U.S. Capitol January 6.

Perry Hooper, Jr., a lead of the Trump forces in Alabama, spoke for many when he told Newsmax Tuesday: "Mo has been a friend for more than fifteen years, back to when we served in the state House [of Representatives] together. He's the real deal, and he was a big help to the President [Trump]."

But Hooper so far remains neutral in the race because "my friend Lynda Blanchard is also a solid conservative and Trump supporter. She was among the earliest on the 'Trump Train.' She and her husband John have a very successful business here [in Montgomery]."

He added, "Lynda also served the President well as ambassador to Slovenia, Melania Trump's native country."

Another prospective Republican in the race to succeed Shelby is Katie Boyd Britt, the retiring senator's longtime top aide and now head of the Business Council of Alabama Central. Should she become a candidate, Britt is sure to have Shelby's backing and possibly that of Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

But, in contrast to Brooks and Blanchard, she is not considered a "Trump Republican" in a state that gave Trump 62 percent of the vote last fall and inarguably is "Trump country." 

How Brooks, Blanchard, and others close to the former president articulate their closeness to him and his philosophy may well determine the outcome of the primary — which is tantamount to election in Alabama.

But none of them can count on an endorsement from Trump himself.