MOBILE, Ala. – Expressing confidence about Alabama Republicans winning in November, President Donald Trump encouraged Alabamians to get out the vote for the general election at his rally in Mobile Friday night.
The president, with a backdrop of signs saying, “No tax on tips,” “No tax on overtime” and “Lower prices,” spoke to a crowd of thousands at the University of South Alabama’s Mitchell Center.
Trump and several Alabama GOP candidates implored Republican voters to turn out, underscoring the importance of flipping Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District red as control of the U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance.
The president mentioned the AL-02 race between Republican nominee Rhett Marques of Enterprise and Democratic incumbent Shomari Figures of Mobile early in his remarks, saying of Marques, “we gotta get him in.”
“You’re the only one that’s a little close because it’s new, it’s fresh,” Trump said to Marques. “It’s brand new, and once you’re in there for about two weeks, nobody’s going to come close.”
Though the AL-02 contest was a centerpiece of the rally, the event took place in Alabama’s 1st Congressional District. The Cook Political Report lists AL-01 as Solid Republican with a partisan voting index of R+17, while the redistricting bellwether race in AL-02 is considered a Lean Republican with an R+7 index.
Marques, a state representative, said that “socialist Democrats in D.C.” are “working overtime” to keep Figures in Congress.
“If Democrats take control, they’ll make you more poor and your families less safe,” Marques said. “In Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, the choice on the ballot truly comes down to two things: craziness versus common sense. It’s that simple.”
All the candidates who spoke, including Republican nominees for statewide and congressional office, asked Alabamians to encourage everyone they know to vote in November.
Voter turnout in Alabama has been an overarching concern for many Republican candidates, as less than one quarter of registered voters participated in the primaries and runoff election earlier this year. The May 19 primary, June 16 runoff and Aug. 11 special congressional primary had turnout rates of 23.16%, 10.74% and 5.24%, respectively.
Echoing comments he has made at several campaign stops, the president told the crowd to act as if he were on the ballot to increase turnout in November. He also reiterated a promise to give all adult citizens a $5,000 “Trump dividend” if Republicans maintain their majorities in Congress.
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd. “Here’s what happens: when I’m not on the ballot, we don’t do well. We have 44% or 48% less people. When I’m on the ballot, we kill everybody, so just close your eyes and pretend I’m on the ballot.”
Republican gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville urged all Republicans to vote to “take care of business.”
“If the Republicans across this country would go out and vote, it would be a landslide everywhere, but people take it for granted,” Tuberville said.
As fuel prices soar and affordability remains a top-of-mind issue for voters across the country, the president also promised that the United States’ conflict with Iran will soon end. He said the high fuel prices are a “small price to pay” compared with what would happen if Iran had a nuclear weapon.
“It’s going to end very soon, probably right after the election,” Trump said of the Iran war. “But as soon as it does end, oil prices will come tumbling down.”
The average price for gas in Alabama was $4.01 per gallon for regular and $6.02 for diesel on Friday, according to AAA. Those prices were $2.79 and $3.45 on average one year ago.
Trump also took time to support numerous nominees for statewide and congressional offices, including his “complete and total endorsements” for Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Wahl, Republican attorney general nominee Katherine Robertson, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Barry Moore, and AL-1 nominee and former U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl.
He mentioned that he supports U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville; Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham; and Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, but did not “waste a lot of time with them” when “they’re so far ahead.”
Weighing in on the gubernatorial race, Trump invoked language about the “radical left” and Democrats pushing communism, a common refrain among Friday’s speakers.
“Right here in your state, Democrats are running a radical lunatic. I know him from the past. He’s a loser, Doug Jones, who’s trying to claw his way back after you already fired him,” Trump said. “When Jones was in the Senate, he voted for open borders, sponsored legislation to push radical gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion in your schools and in your military. Alabama needs to elect a true winner for governor, and that winner happens to be Coach Tommy Tuberville.”
Jones held his own event in Mobile on Friday. He previously said that he views Trump’s rally as a sign that the GOP is in trouble in the state this cycle.
“We’re scaring the hell out of them,” Jones said during an MS NOW interview. “They think Alabama is a firewall. Now they’ve got to protect a firewall. Well, it’s not a firewall anymore.”
Tuberville spoke before Trump’s remarks, touting his educational and workforce development plans if elected.
“As your governor, we’re going to have to train people. Every kid does not need to go to four-year school,” Tuberville said. “We’re going to open up our community college. We’re going to workforce development. We’re going to use our hands. We’re going to teach people and their kids. We’re going to teach them education, but we’re going to teach them how to live a life, to do things with our hands.”
Trump’s visit was part of a nationwide tour to campaign ahead of the midterms. He visited Oklahoma on Thursday, which he said was about thanking states that have supported him from the beginning.
“In the case of Oklahoma and Alabama, I’m here to say hello, I love you, and I’m coming here as a sign of respect…” Trump said. “I’m here really because sometimes even though you don’t have to come here, you got to pay respect to the people that have loved you right here from the beginning.”
Trump reflected on his 2015 visit to Mobile during which he was famously endorsed by then-Alabama U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, saying that “it sort of all began here.”
The general election is Nov. 3. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 19.