But in the lead-up to Tuesday’s runoff, Trump is squarely behind Britt — who is regarded by local Republicans as the front-runner — and drawing fierce criticism from Brooks, making for one of the most unusual conclusions to a primary fight this year. The winner of the GOP nomination will begin the general election as a heavy favorite in this ruby-red state.
A year ago, Trump’s pick seemed obvious: He endorsed Brooks, the loyalist who once boasted that he “led the charge” to reject Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. But as Brooks fell in the polls in March, Trump abandoned him and raged over the congressman’s suggestion that voters “look forward” to 2022 and 2024, eventually issuing a last-minute endorsement for Britt.
The flip-flop and its aftermath show how Trump’s freewheeling endorsement strategy in the midterms has at times scrambled the GOP’s battle lines, forcing some longtime allies to fight for his voters and leaving some staunch supporters of the former president feeling disillusioned. His uneven record and some surprise picks have stoked debate among voters, strategists and even candidates about his grip over the movement he claims to lead.
In the closing days of the race here in Alabama, Brooks has been accusing Trump of ditching his political movement to pick a winner after humiliating defeats in other states.
“If I give someone my word, I stick to it,” he told reporters after his Friday rally at the Huntsville airport, days after venting to an Alabama columnist that Trump “has no loyalty to anyone or anything but himself.”
Waiting in line for a picture with Brooks at the event, Steve Henderson said he used to think Trump would help the GOP by running for president in 2024. But after Trump’s reversal in the Senate race, the 60-year-old said, he’s not so sure.
“People had more passion for Trump in the beginning,” echoed Sara Williamson, 76, who was waiting behind Henderson with a camera in hand. “It’s like a marriage. You’re passionate in the beginning, then things go wrong.”
“When things get heated, what comes out?” she said. “The truth … I think now that we are seeing who Trump is.”
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Trump has posted a shaky record in contested Republican primaries so far this year. His preferred candidates for governor suffered defeats in Georgia, Nebraska and Idaho, while he has had success in U.S. Senate primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he backed candidates some saw as insufficiently conservative. A pair of primaries in South Carolina for the U.S. House last week amounted to a mixed outcome for Trump.
As in other Republican primaries, Trump’s endorsement has long been seen as a coveted stamp of approval in Alabama. Former Republican Alabama congressman Bradley Byrne — who is friends with both Britt and Brooks, and declined to share his vote — recalled his first conversation with Britt about the Senate race. “Katie,” he said, “the first thing you need to do is go down and see President Trump.”
Trump remains popular in the state, where he won 62 percent of the vote in 2020. Some political observers said Brooks’s harsh words for the former president could hurt the congressman in the runoff.
But the ups and downs of the GOP primary have also undercut the notion of Trump as Republican…
Read More: How Donald Trump’s endorsement flip-flop roiled the U.S. Senate race in Alabama
