Rep. Mo Brooks is running third in his bid for the Republican nomination for Senate in Alabama, according to a fresh poll, more bad news for the congressman as former President Donald Trump mulls pulling his endorsement.
This survey for the Alabama Daily News showed businessman and military veteran Mike Durant leading with 34.6%, followed by Katie Britt, former chief of staff to retiring Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, at 28.4%. Brooks, once the undisputed front-runner propelled by Trump’s endorsement, lagged at 16.1%, with 14.1% undecided, as the May 24 primary approaches.
Perhaps just as significant, the March 16-17 poll of likely Republican primary voters found that Trump’s endorsement might not be as decisive as presumed in Alabama, a red state where the former president enjoys strong support among GOP voters.
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When asked if Trump’s endorsement would make them “more likely” to back a Republican primary candidate, 39.1% said yes, 42.4% said it “makes no difference,” and 13.8% said it would make them “less likely.” These findings suggest Brooks has bigger political challenges than a lack of awareness that Trump endorsed him among Republican voters.
The survey, conducted by Cygnal, a Republican firm, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Trump told the Washington Examiner in an interview this month that he is considering yanking or switching his endorsement in the Alabama Senate primary, explaining that he is not happy with Brooks’s performance in the race. “Mo Brooks is disappointing,” the former president said. “I’m determining right now, has Mo Brooks — has he changed?”
Brooks responded with a fresh emphasis on Trump’s endorsement and an announcement that, if elected to the Senate this November, he will oppose granting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell another term as the chamber’s top Republican. The congressman previously declined to make that pledge.
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Additional findings in the Cygnal poll included:
- Trump’s favorable/unfavorable ratings are stellar: 79.8%/16.9%.
- Britt led Brooks in a hypothetical runoff 50.6% to 28.3%.
- Durant led Brooks in a hypothetical runoff 56.7% to 23.3%.
- Durant led Britt in a hypothetical runoff 47.4% to 34.7%, with 18.5% undecided.
- Shelby’s job approval rating is 56.7%, with 24.6% disapproving.
