Why Republican Presidential Hopefuls Need Alabama’s Support

Rachel Osier Lindley | August 24, 2015

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Alabama has been in the political spotlight after GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump spoke to some 20,000 people in Mobile on Friday. But Trump isn’t the only candidate visiting the state. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was in Talladega on Saturday. Today, retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson is in Montgomery and Texas Senator Ted Cruz speaks in Tuscaloosa. On Wednesday Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, is scheduled to be in Birmingham. For more on why Alabama matters to Republicans vying for the presidential nomination, WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley spoke to UAB professor Larry Powell. Powell has studied presidential campaigns since the seventies, and is co-author of a book on political campaign communication. Powell says this time around, Alabama looks very different from the way it has at this point in previous campaign seasons.