Friday and Saturday over 400 members of the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee met in Auburn to celebrate recent election victories and begin planning for the 2020 election, specifically re-electing President Donald J. Trump (R) and electing a Republican Senator.
Saturday, Alabama Republican Party Chairman told the gathered state executive committee members that Alabama has, “One of the largest Republican Parties in America,” and that the GOP now holds over 65 percent of the partisan elected offices in Alabama.
Lathan called for a moment of silence for the 23 people killed in the Lee County tornados earlier this year and pledged part of the proceeds from the sell of Trump 2020 merchandise would be donated to help the victims of the horrific tornadoes recover.
Lathan also asked that the group remember Gerald Knight, Lee County Republican Party Chairman, who passed away in March.
Lathan praised her staff, interns, and volunteers for all of their hard work.
Lathan thanked the Republican voters, “They are the shareholders.”
Lathan said that Alabama is one of six state Republican parties that have already met the Republican National Committee’s goals for 2020.
“We must now focus on 2020 with reelecting Trump and replacing a senator who keeps ignoring the majority of the party of this state,” Lathan said.
Lathan reported that over half of county parties have completed their growth plans and that the party is working on finishing growth plans for the rest of the counties.
“We know that there are forces trying to stop President Trump and his policies,” Lathan said. “We need to work harder than ever to get him back in the White House.”
“We are the gatekeepers of freedom, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Lathan said.
Lathan said that Doug Jones would rather be, “In California or New York hanging out with his buddies raising money,” rather than be in Alabama listening to the concerns of the people.
Lathan chided Democrats for, “Having a conversation trying to figure out how many genders there are.”
“We are coming hard and we are going to right that wrong in 2020,” Lathan said of defeating Jones.
Lathan said that the Republican National Committee is already preparing for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte next year.
Lathan is serving in her third term as chairman. She is a former educator.
On Friday night, Trump’s political director Chris Carr addressed the group.
“Alabama is Trump country,” Carr said. Alabama is the state where the President has some of his highest approval numbers.
Carr worked with Reince Priebus at the RNC as political director in 2016 when Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
Carr said that Trump is very inquisitive and asks lots of questions and insists on getting to know everyone on the staff.
Carr, who is originally from Louisiana, had left D.C. to go work in the hotel business; but then he got a call from President Trump asking him to return as political director so he did.
Carr emphasized that the key in the 2020 election is to focus on 2016 voters who have become disengaged. Carr said that there were 290,000 Trump voters in 2016 in Alabama that did not vote in 2018. Republicans needs to energize that 290.000 in order to win in 2020.
Carr said that new voters brought to the party by Trump’s message are “the new base” and said that they should be welcomed into the party. Some of them are former Democrats, some are former independents, and many were never registered voters before.
The platinum sponsors for Sunday night’s ALGOP Summer Dinner were: Alabama Power, the Drummond Company, and Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Saks).
Lathan announced that the Winter Dinner and meeting will be in Prattville at the golf resort in February.
