Bill Hightower’s campaign for Congress has launched a new ad that features U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) making a direct case to voters about why they should vote for the former state senator from Mobile.
Hightower is currently in a runoff election against Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl to be the Republican nominee for Alabama’s First Congressional District that encompasses most of southwest Alabama. The current seat holder, Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope), ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate instead of seeking reelection.
Cruz first endorsed Hightower on May 14 and appears to have gone even further in his support with recording testimonial footage in Monday’s ad.
The Hightower campaign says the minute-long spot will run on digital platforms as part of their current six-figure multimedia advertising push.
“Bill Hightower is a committed pro-life champion who unapologetically defends the unborn,” says Cruz in the ad.
“He will lead the fight for fiscal responsibility,” continues Cruz.
“I’m confident Bill will fight alongside me in Washington as we combat the radical left that is trying to move our nation away from the free market to socialism,” adds the senator from Texas.
Hightower trailed Carl by just over 1,200 votes in the March 3 primary that saw over 99,000 voters in southwest Alabama cast a ballot. No public polling has been released since that day.
Third and fourth place finishers State Rep. Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) and restauranteur Wes Lambert both endorsed Hightower’s opponent Jerry Carl in the weeks after the primary, as did the Alabama Farmers Federation and a group of business leaders called the Coastal 150.
More recently, Carl got the support of Rep. Bradley Byrne, who did well in his home district during the Senate primary.
In addition to Cruz, Hightower has the support of former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), the National Right to Life Committee, and the Alabama Forestry Association.
Hightower is also strongly backed by the conservative group Club for Growth, which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with the intention of making Hightower the nominee.
The runoff election will be held on July 14.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95