The Trumpian Agenda Fueling Mo Brooks’ Senate Campaign

The Alabama representative is emphasizing border security, the fight against socialism, and—most of all—election integrity.

By
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A year out from the 2022 midterms, GOP Rep. Mo Brooks is already barreling full steam ahead to try to win a seat in Congress’ upper chamber next year. Four years after his failed bid for Senate in Alabama’s 2017 special election, the Huntsville congressman announced in March that he would launch a bid to succeed Alabama’s GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, who said in February that he would not seek a seventh term.

Brooks has already snatched the golden ticket in any Republican primary right now: an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. “Few Republicans have as much COURAGE and FIGHT as Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks,” Trump said in a statement through his Save America super PAC in early April. Brooks also snagged an endorsement from Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul last week.

The only other declared GOP candidate is Trump’s former ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard, an Alabama businesswoman who has already invested $5 million of her own money into her campaign. (Blanchard’s campaign declined multiple requests for an interview with The Dispatch.) Business Council of Alabama CEO Katie Britt, who previously served as Shelby’s former chief of staff, has also hinted at possibly running. 

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill had planned to run, but he announced last month that he would not join the race after he was caught publicly lying about and then admitting to an extramarital affair.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Paul Britton

    Excellent reporting.

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    Octávio Lima

    I guess these candidates did not get the memo from leadership that the election is over and they should not be talking about it...

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    1. Jennifer Manon

      Well only if they want to address truth, then it is in the past. If they would like to embrace the lie then doubling down is all the rage

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  3. Chris

    A small correction: Trump did not endorse Moore before the primary. He actually gave a halfhearted endorsement of Strange, but Moore won anyway. Trump then endorsed him and stuck with him after the allegations.

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    Barry Alexander

    So depressing that this guy is the favorite.

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  5. IamJACKSventedSPLEEN

    Audrey, I was really hoping for more post-Trump content. Disappointed.

    My view is that the focus for conservatives needs to be on calling out the insanity of the Biden regime, and not articles tying Trump or his supposed agenda to other candidates. It's not helpful (I know you may not care about this, but many of us do), and it's really not what I was hoping for when I subscribed.

    How about some pieces on the spate of the crazy justice Democrats out there that are running our cities into the ground in pursuit of political correctness, and the money going to them from the far left to win more elections?

    How about some articles on how Schumer is pandering to AOC's base to prevent from getting primaried? Where is Schumer's full throated defense of Israel?

    How about an article on how Cuomo is likely to get elected again, despite credible accusations of harassment against him, and killing thousands of seniors in their homes? Doesn't that make New York's embrace of him about as insane and hypocritical as Trump supporters?

    There's plenty you can write about without having to go here. I know Steve and Jonah have made a cottage industry (if not a religion) out of punching right - but if you want to hear from a subscriber - here it is.

    *There are plenty of election stories out there that would be interesting to conservatives that don't involve punching right, and dragging Trumpism back into the lens. It's not what I want, and it's not helping defeat the left.*

    Thanks.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Bill Nelson

      “...the focus for conservatives needs to be on calling out the insanity of the Biden regime...”
      That type of complaining is tuned out. To engage in a political discussion requires a presentation of a real policy, based on principle.
      For example border security: why does it matter, why not allow the asylum seekers in? Trump’s rhetoric that they were criminals was wrong.

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    2. James D

      Why is it that folks continue using the phrase "post-Trump” as if he doesn’t currently have a death grip on the party and isn’t the presumptive nominee in 2024?

      The GOP wants to talk about being "post-Trump" at the same time as they defenestrate everyone anti-Trump for being anti-Trump, have seditionists like Brooks preparing to move into Senate seats thanks to the support of Trump, and begin quietly seeding wing nut candidates in local state election apparatuses.

      Sorry, but I’m not buying this "post-Trump” idea one bit, and neither should anyone else.

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      1. James D

        I mean, really - this guy is openly saying he thinks Trump won the election, will likely be a Senator soon, and you want us to believe we’re living in a "post-Trump" era? C’mon.

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    3. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Audrey Fahlberg vertical-nib Author

      Noted — I hear your criticism. More coverage on Democrats and moderate Republicans TK

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      1. Marc Whipple

        The analysis of all three Senate races -- Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Alabama -- was great. It will be interesting if Doug Jones will be the Democrats' nominee. Any chance No Brooks could get the Roy Moore treatment and lose to Jones?

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        1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
          Audrey Fahlberg vertical-nib Author

          Brooks may be a controversial candidate, but he doesn't have the history Moore does. Remember, this is Alabama we're talking about — barring some crazy news cycle, the Republican candidate will almost certainly win the general. But it's still early! Several more candidates could hop into the race on the GOP side before next year's Republican primary.

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          1. Marc Whipple

            Alas, probably true. To me, Brooks is a very small step up from Moore, but I am not a typical Alabama voter. I do wonder, however, if the January 6th riot will hurt candidates closely tied to those events, like Brooks.

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      2. James D

        FWIW, I don’t think this is an entirely good-faith complaint, as they complain about you "tying" Brooks to Trump when Brooks is openly campaigning as a die-hard MAGA guy with Trump’s endorsement.

        If the GOP is moving more people who are explicitly anti-democratic into positions of greater power I would certainly like to know about it!

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        1. Chris

          I mean you can't write about Republican primaries without writing about Trump. It's sad but it's true.

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      mel ladi

      I’d agree, too, about hearing more stories. I’d guess if Cuomo gets re-elected, it will be a combo of enthusiastic crazies and people who think the other option is somehow worse. Hard to imagine. Let me know if any Cuomo churches start up.

      I am a real live subscriber who is not a conservative. The Republican Party hasn’t moved on, Brooks being an example. As long as that’s so Trump is a part of the equation.

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      Aylene Wright

      I agree about wanting more coverage of Democrats, such as the NYC mayoral campaign, where Andrew Yang is mostly running a personality-based campaign, while Eric Adams is running as the "law and order" candidate, which is very interesting as Adams is Black and a former cop, who has a campaign trail story of being beaten up by cops in his youth. If Adams wins it will say a lot about where the BLM movement is going.

      However, in the case of Mo Brooks, it's not the Dispatch tying him to Trump. Brooks himself is doing that.

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    JohnF

    I remember hearing an interview with Brooks after the last election. He couldn't complete a sentence without inserting the words "far-left radical democrat socialists".
    Q. "Congressman, what will you be having for dessert today?"
    A. I'll be having the Apple Pie, if it hasn't already been taken by the far-left radical democrat socialists!"
    Q. "Will you be driving to work today?"
    A. " Only if the highways haven't been taken over by the far-left radical democrat socialists."
    That's an exaggeration, but sadly it's not much of one. Five minutes of listening to the guy convinced me that he really didn't have that much to say beyond his talking points.
    So now the guy who admitted that he worked for two months to overturn the last election is going to run on a platform that includes "freedom and liberty vs. dictatorial government".

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    mel ladi

    I’m just a kibitzer. How can you even pull our country to the center (as I’d like to see) if we have candidates elected who skew so sharply. Is there enough crazy-right about him that a conservative, centrist Dem would have a shot? I say that because I am assuming that the primary will go Trumpy and Trumpier.

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    1. Richard Kennedy

      Me? I don't care so much about spectrum. What is lost here is the struggle to be traditional conservative/classical liberal these days when old fashioned Buchananism passes for all that's conservative in GOP. I'd mock the notion of a conservative centrist Dem, but right now I'm distressed at what has befallen my side.

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        Bill Nelson

        “...struggle to be traditional conservative/classical liberal...”
        I find it no more of a struggle than any other day. I find it less likely that there is a person I can vote for.

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      Bill Nelson

      “...pull our country to the center...”
      Perhaps the center is wrong. And there is a lot of craziness on the left.

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        scott

        Maybe, but in my opinion, I tend to think the center provides stability and represents more of a steady, well-known brand (something like Chesterson's fence). The far left is not that, of course. But the GOP today isn't either. What do we have left to choose from in the Trump GOP? Certainly not a conservative or centrist approach to governing. I'll quote a wise man who once said: "The problem with the Trump people is that other than a slogan they have no foundational principles. Conservative principles are difficult to espouse and require significant study."

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        mel ladi

        That is why I said to the center because yes, there is plenty crazy on the left. If I thought a moderate Republican could win a primary...

        I'm quite fond of the center. Perhaps the center is too far left for you though.

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          Bill Nelson

          My point is that the center is often wrong. Perhaps the best possible tax policy is 0% corporate tax with a minimum income tax of 12%, so that everyone has an interest in efficient government. Eliminate the income tax withholding from paychecks and require everyone to pay quarterly, so you really know what you are paying.
          The idea of the “center” is a core concept of progressivism, it slows the adaptation of progressive policies but they do advance.
          There are correct solutions and policies, most are not midway between left and right. Politicians have to be able to make the case to the people, and that requires effort that very few are capable of.

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            mel ladi

            I am going to push back just a little on what you were saying. I do not think it is the job of the government to be efficient. It is the job of the government to serve and to represent the will of its people. That’s often messy and inefficient.

            And “correct“ ... isn’t that in the eye of the beholder? You and I would likely disagree on what the correct solution is, for instance.

            I do agree with you, however, that some solutions might be better that come from the left; some from the right; some possibly even from libertarians.

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    3. Very Old Grumpy Guy

      Trumpy, Trumpier, Trumpiest....

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  8. John

    Given the current trend, if Doug Jones had beat Roy Moore in 2022 instead of 2018, would Republican in the state have even allowed him his seat?

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    Victor Clairmont

    Meh, not sure he catches fire at all.

    We shall see of course.

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      Dan

      I'm pretty sure Brooks will... right now demographics still favors embittered mediocre white men who'd rather embrace Trumpism than acknowledge their own shortcomings and failures in an economic and socio-political system that explicitly favors them. And, sadly, this trend does cross generational barriers. I'm starting to run into embittered mediocre white male millenials as well as Gen Xers who take the Trump line solely because of jealousy of everyone else.

      Why is it that mediocrity fuels bitterness so much in our society? (that's a rhetorical question)

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      1. Alex DeLarge

        I can tell from your profile pic that you are a real winner, Dan. So please be kind to your fellow white people who haven't achieved your obvious levels of status and intellectual accomplishment.

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          Dan

          No. I expect them to step up and be better. I expect them to live up to the standards they've set for anyone who isn't white. I darn well expect better of them, and you--and I am consistently disappointed you are unable to meet your own stated expectations for your own standards.

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          1. Alex DeLarge

            What are you talking about? All our society does is lower the standards for non-whites. Any way that they fail is excused as being white people's fault by definition. I think you are quite confused about how society actually works.

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        Bill Nelson

        “...demographics still favors embittered mediocre white men who'd rather embrace Trumpism than acknowledge their own shortcomings and failures in an economic and socio-political system that explicitly favors them.”
        That is certainly going to win the argument.
        Perhaps the shift is to the unwashed, unemployable who want stuff others pay for? When you read analysis of the Trump support, the large majority are good people, with good jobs or small businesses who felt like there were people speaking to every constituency except them. And they are not wrong.

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        1. Jennifer Manon

          Yet, the voters that shifted from the GOP to vote for Biden in the last election did so more from a complete rejection of this type of rhetoric. Calling people the "unwashed, unemployable who want stuff others pay for" is not only not factually based on who supports a center and center-left agenda but it is incendiary and causes the same emotional reaction as the insulting speech about immigration from the trumplicans.

          The reality is that the percentage of voters in high-income tax brackets is found more in the left-leaning voter. There are many business owners who identify as republican but not more who identify as center and center-left. Doing just a quick search of voter demographics shows that the GOP has fervent support in the "angry white male" group as well as evangelicals and white Catholics. They are stronger in the rural areas, which is why so many congressional districts turn red. What they aren't, is the majority of the population. The refusal to acknowledge their shortcomings and cling to Trump only serves to alienate everyone but the truly devoted to Trump. The percentage of voters who identify as republican has fallen dramatically since 2004 when the parties were equal and those independents dipped as well. Now those who identify as independent are over 40% of voters. Those are the people who want common sense to prevail and debates over policy. As long as the GOP clings to the trumpy rhetoric there is no discussion of policy.

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            Bill Nelson

            If you read the quote at the top of the post you will see that my “unwashed” statement was meant as a mirror of the original quote.
            “...long as the GOP clings to the trumpy rhetoric there is no discussion of policy.”
            Agreed. And as long as the left is engaged in stratification of the country into classes and ethnic groups discussion is also not possible. Denigration of Trump supporters serves to give them a reason to double down.

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          Kmregan7

          The Trump supporters with good jobs and small businesses have had people speaking for them for decades....decades. Their "feeling" that they weren't being spoken to is wrong.

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            Bill Nelson

            Not how they see it.

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          Dan

          Huh... that's funny. And here I thought the vast majority of Trump supporters wanted a wall built, Muslim bans, BLM persecuted and prosecuted, and oh yeah, support an armed insurrection on January 6th based on false accusations of voter fraud, and are largely built on White Evangelical racism.

          Sorry Bill... I don't accept your third paragraph, period. PERIOD. The truth is that the "Large Majority" you speak of are radicalized white nationalists and supremacists who support a racist con man. They're not Republicans who voted for Trump because they didn't like the other option; they specifically endorsed and wanted four more years of the cruelty, racism, and idolatry of a man who rode a golden escalator. The truth is on my side, Bill, and there is *nothing* you can say or do to change that.

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          1. Alex DeLarge

            Dan, your head is stuffed with propaganda and hate. You apparently think you can signal your virtue by hating on your race and calling everything and everybody "racist." It's sad and pathetic. You're like some wigger trying to fit in by wearing your baseball cap sideways and talking with a ghetto accent. I'm sure your leftist BLM friends also think you are ridiculous.

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      Jason Gibson

      In Alabama? that's like dry pine needles for unextinguished Trump campfires

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    JCroz

    Brooks is another of the sort of signs I hoped we wouldn’t be seeing... I hoped that an embarrassed amnesia would sweep over the Republican Party and that it would try to get over the Trump fever. Sigh.

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      Dave

      Unfortunately, the opposite has occurred. Unbelievable.

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      Bill Nelson

      Remember that the Republican Party appeals to many different voters for different reasons. The apparent influence of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party over the Biden administration gives ammunition to the Trump element of the Republican Party to proclaim the battle against socialism (it was not that long ago that mainstream democrats rejected the term “liberal”). The problem with the Trump people is that other than a slogan they have no foundational principles. Conservative principles are difficult to espouse and require significant study.

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      1. Alex DeLarge

        Anti-Trumpers self-identify as "principled," but they are actually motivated by personal hatred of one man. Personality is actually the opposite of principle. I mean, what part of the following agenda is against your so-called conservative principles? Serious question.

        "Border security; the fight between socialism and free enterprise; our soon-to-be $30 trillion debt and the risk that poses for a debilitating national insolvency and bankruptcy of the federal government; moral values versus immoral values; freedom and liberty vs. dictatorial government; and of course, last but not least, whether we're going to have honest and accurate elections in America.”

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          Bill Nelson

          “Alex DeLarge21 hr ago
          Anti-Trumpers self-identify as "principled," but they are actually motivated by personal hatred of one man.”
          As a long time Never Trumper, it is quite easy to reject this claim. Take the man and his lack of morals out of it, what conservative principles did Trump, a former democrat, champion? None.

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          1. Alex DeLarge

            He cut taxes, tried to protect the border (although mostly defeated by RINOs and Democrats), appointed conservative judges, cut regulations, fought against political correctness and Critical Race Theory, confronted China, supported the military. Tell me how did Trump's policies differ substantially from Reagan's?

            The people on this site wouldn't know conservatism if it bit them in the ass.

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          JohnF

          "𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒"
          Apart from its value as a slogan, what does that even mean? Are you asserting that the party that supports high tariffs, protectionism, and massive farm subsidies and wants to skew taxes towards companies that don't support an acceptable partisan position represents "free enterprise"? Did the Trump-led Republicans do anything to constrain debt and deficits when they had full control of the government? Or did they just goose the economy by running high deficits even though the economy was hot?
          As for "honest and free elections", which party has completely ignored the results of countless failed efforts in formal judicial settings in which those who disputed the election were unable to provide any evidence to support their case? And which party, with Mo Brooks up front, tried to negate the results of an election that had been fully certified by all of the States as specified in the constitution?
          What principles do you and Mo Brooks still hold?

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          1. James D

            Alex is a known troll, I recommend ignoring him.

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      Jason Gibson

      You are me both............it's so depressing

      Audrey great stuff as usual..........but you need to get off the depressing election topics :(

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        Bill Nelson

        Not depressing at all. It is natural in a society that is based on a free political system. Consider this: my favorite Bernie Sanders quote is one in which he blames the existence of child poverty on the number of different deodorants available.
        “You don’t necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants when children are hungry in this country,"
        Now that scares the heck out of me.

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        1. Kevin Brady

          Seriously. What would be better, Bernie, having a serious shortage on all kinds of different essentials....and having an even worse child-hunger problem? Because I worked in a former Soviet state for a bit, and that's what I saw.

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      2. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
        Audrey Fahlberg vertical-nib Author

        Campaign reporting is my favorite, I'll never give up the beat!

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          Jason Gibson

          I'll be waiting for your Ben Sasse (my hero) reporting.

          I"m optimistic that I will get to vote for him for real in 2024 instead of just writing his name in for the past two elections.

          Glad you are out there!

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