By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, will be in Birmingham on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. Sen. Rubio reportedly will endorse state Rep. Will Ainsworth for Alabama Lieutenant Governor.
“Come hear Senator Marco Rubio’s endorsement of our campaign on Thursday. The campaign is sponsoring the first 50 people to get in for free to the Reception. It starts at 6:00 PM and goes until 6:45 PM. It is located at the East Hall on the 3rd Floor in Meeting Room 3. Let us know if you would like to come,” Rep. Ainsworth said on social media.
The event will be in the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
Rubio’s appearance will be for a private round table and reception. Ainsworth was the Alabama co-chair for Marco Rubio for President in the 2016 Republican presidential primary season.
The race for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor is highly competitive with no clear front runner as the candidates all work on establishing name recognition with voters.
Rep. Will Ainsworth, state Sen. Rusty Glover and Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh have all declared that they are running for the office in the 2018 Republican primary.
There is no Democratic candidate declared for Lieutenant Governor at this point; though there is speculation from Democratic insiders that former state Rep. James Fields, who is currently a declared candidate for Governor, may switch to the Lieutenant Governor’s race. Fields ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2014 but was soundly defeated by incumbent Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey.
“Much like Donald Trump’s campaign, ours is a grassroots movement, and I deeply appreciate the early enthusiasm from our donors and supporters,” Ainsworth said. “We expect our support to continue growing throughout the campaign as Alabamians hear our plan to provide them with low taxes, strong ethics, more jobs, and better schools.”
Ainsworth, who was elected in 2014, currently represents Alabama’s House District 27, which includes portions of Marshall, DeKalb and Blount counties. A member of the House Ethics Committee, he signed Articles of Impeachment against former Gov. Robert Bentley, introduced strict term limits legislation and also sponsored a recall measure that would allow voters to remove public officials who abuse their office.
Ainsworth said that he has strongly supported other commonsense conservative causes, such as abolishing Obama-era Common Core mandates, implementing strong pro-life measures that position Alabama to take advantage when Roe v. Wade is overturned and opposing more than $1 billion in state tax increase proposals.
Ainsworth operates Dream Ranch, one of the most recognized hunting and fishing lodges in the states and is founder of the Tennessee Valley Hunting and Fishing Expo. He also runs a commercial cattle farming operation.
Ainsworth and his wife, Kendall, have three children. They are members of Grace Fellowship Church in Albertville.
Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants who fled the murderous regime of Fidel Castro following Cuba’s Marxist Revolution. Rubio ran for president in the 2016 Republican primary.
