Katie Britt set to be one of Alabama’s youngest senators

Katie Britt’s Tuesday runoff victory over Rep. Mo Brooks puts her in the position of being the first woman elected to the US Senate from Alabama.

But to political pundits, what’s just as important to Alabama residents is that she is poised to be one of Alabama’s youngest senators since Reconstruction.

“They told me, you’re too young, wait your turn,” Britt, 40, told a crowd of cheering supporters during a victory celebration Tuesday in Montgomery. “One thing is clear. Alabama has spoken. We want new blood. We want fresh blood.”

‘A long, long time’

Indeed, Alabama Republican voters have endorsed a candidate who, if she wins the general election, as expected, over Democratic challenger Will Boyd and Libertarian John Sophocleus in November, will be the state’s youngest senator since Donald Stewart in 1978. .

Stewart was 38 years old when he won a special election for the United States Senate that year. He only served two years in the Senate, losing his bid for re-election in 1980.

For much of the state’s history since the Civil War, Alabama voters sent primarily white men to the Senate. Many of them were first elected when they were 50 years old.

Senator Richard Shelby, 88, who is retiring for six terms, was first elected to the post at age 53 in 1986.

“She is not only the first woman from Alabama, but (one of the) youngest U.S. senators and that double title is incredibly important,” said Jon Gray, a Republican strategist from Mobile. “She will be here to define and shape Alabama for a long time. We have a young, conservative mother in the United States Senate who could easily serve 42 years in the United States Senate.”

“This is a very bright young conservative woman with an enormous amount of passion who will be there to influence Alabama for a long, long time.”

Thomas Shaw, a political science professor at the University of South Alabama, said Britt’s victory bodes well for Alabama because of its potential to one day achieve Shelby-like seniority. Shelby was the chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee from 2018 to 2021 and has been widely regarded as the key federal lawmaker who provided billions of dollars in federal money to support Alabama projects for decades.

Britt served as Shelby’s chief of staff from 2016 to 2018, before serving as president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama from 2018 to 2021.

“With Shelby gone, we lose the seniority that he has,” Shaw said. “When she finally gets access to those high-level positions, she will reap dividends. Incumbency is what she is, and the fact that Republicans are doing well in Alabama, I don’t see any problem with her being in the Senate as long as she wants.”

Each Senate term lasts six years, so he would have some time to familiarize himself with the position.

‘fill the shoes’

What kind of senator will Britt become? Gray said that she will have little growing pains because of her connections to Shelby and her personal.

“He literally walks into office knowing everyone who is there,” he said. “Will it have influence? No. Will she have ownership? No. But she will have those relationships. No one will fill Richard Shelby’s shoes. But Katie Britt can at least tie them up. Give her a few years and she can take Richard Shelby’s place faster than anyone.”

Gray said that if anyone was worried about Shelby retiring and the state losing his seniority, then Britt is “100 percent the right candidate to fill that position.”

Ryan Williamson, an assistant professor of political science at Auburn University, said Shelby’s influence in the election propelled Britt to win the Senate more than former President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement.

“It was clear that she was going to win and he wanted to say that he would endorse a winner,” Williamson said of Trump’s endorsement. “What mattered most was the state organization and the donors and Shelby’s reputation, and the back of the Senate leadership. She had many invaluable tools at her disposal to run an effective campaign.”

Britt enjoyed a considerable fundraising lead, with nearly $2 million coming from the Senate Leadership Fund to support a Britt-aligned super PAC.

More than $30 million in foreign spending flooded the Alabama Republican Senate primary, according to open secrets. Of that, approximately $8 million was spent promoting Britt’s candidacy, compared to $3 million in support of Brooks and $7.4 million in opposition to the congressman.

Steven Taylor, a political science professor at Troy University, said Britt will navigate “a different political environment” in the Senate, where appropriation of funds on behalf of in-state projects often takes a backseat to opinion. of the heated debates about the culture war. .

“When he ran, he had to emphasize those elements,” Taylor said, referring to Britt’s television ads in which he showed his conservative bona fides on border control, anti-abortion policies and gun rights.

“You would hope, from a state standpoint, that we would have a legislator that would bring what Alabama needs,” he said.

‘Gaining ground’

Britt’s victory also brings her one step closer to making history and joining a minority club in the Senate: Only eight Republican women currently serve in the upper house. Another 16 women in the Senate are Democrats.

Britt will be only the third woman from Alabama to serve in the US Senate, and the first woman elected to the office if she wins in November.

The state’s first female senator was Dixie Bibb Graves, who was appointed in 1937 by her husband, who was Governor of Alabama at the time. Graves filled a vacancy for about four months after Senator Hugo Black took a seat on the United States Supreme Court.

Maryon Allen was appointed to serve in the United States Senate in 1978, following the death of her husband, Senator Jim Allen. Maryon Allen lost her bid for election that year in a special election that Stewart won.

“Republican women have been gaining a little bit of ground, having had a harder time winning primaries in the past,” said Regina Wagner, a political science professor at the University of Alabama. “In part this is because women used to have to deal with a reputation for being more liberal, which was a problem for Republicans.”

Troy University’s Taylor said Britt’s likely rise to the Senate will be notable for Alabama because few women hold seats in the upper house.

“In general, the Senate is less diverse than the House,” he said. “It is a progress that we do not notice as much as before. But it is noteworthy. It is a minimum of diversification for our delegation”.

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