By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Martha Roby in her bid for reelection in Alabama’s 2nd District.
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The president tweeted his support for Roby saying, “Congresswoman Martha Roby of Alabama has been a consistent and reliable vote for our Make America Great Again Agenda. She is in a Republican Primary run-off against a recent Nancy Pelosi voting Democrat. I fully endorse Martha for Alabama 2nd Congressional District!”
Trump has endorsed several GOP candidates in primary races, but this one is especially significant because it was Roby’s denouncement of Trump in October 2016 that has been her biggest political headache the last 18 months.
Roby called for Trump to step aside and make way for Mike Pence when audio surfaced of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women. She explained her decision as practical, professional and personal, and never backtracked as so many other Trump denouncers did.
After the 2016 election, Roby congratulated Trump and made it clear she was in line with the shared Trump-GOP agenda. Since then, Roby has built relationships inside the Trump Administration and visited the White House several times for strategy sessions and bill signings.
That didn’t stop political fallout, though.A 2017 Politico story speculated that Roby was on Trump’s “enemies” list. Each of Roby’s GOP four primary opponents used the 2016 episode as a foundational message of their candidacies against her.
Roby is currently in a primary runoff with former Congressman Bobby Bright, a former Democrat turned Republican who has been touting a Trumpian message on the campaign trail.
The president, clearly unimpressed with Bright’s overtures, referenced the former Congressman as a “Nancy Pelosi voting Democrat.”
Now, with Trump’s support, Roby can likely put the backlash behind her. The runoff election for the GOP nomination in Alabama’s 2nd District takes place July 17.