While party leaders hailed the long-awaited GOP alternative to Obamacare after its unveiling in early March, negative reactions swiftly piled up from across the political spectrum.

Opposition from Democrats was expected, as the left continues to vow it will staunchly oppose any attempt to repeal the ACA or weaken its key provisions. Accordingly, any reasonable legislative effort requires a bill that can pass with zero Democratic support, hence the House bill’s reliance on using budget reconciliation procedures to pass both chambers.

But while pushback from the left was expected, congressional leadership seemed surprised as the week’s events played out and it became clear that the truly fatal opposition to the bill may come from fellow Republicans.

Medicaid and Planned Parenthood Drives Moderate Opposition

Within the Capitol, the most explicit concerns have been raised by Republican senators nervous about rolling back the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, and those who reject the bill’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

On March 6, Senators Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Shelley Capito and Cory Gardner sent a letter to Mitch McConnell outlining their objections to Medicaid cuts, writing, “While we support efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and make structural reforms to the Medicaid program, we are concerned that the February 10th draft proposal from the House of Representatives does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states.”

Such objections have also been raised by several Republican state governors, most notably John Kasich of Ohio, who issued a Twitter statement that said he supports repealing Obamacare, but, “Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive[.]”

Meanwhile, both Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have indicated they likely won’t vote for any bill that includes cuts to Planned Parenthood.

Tea Party Pushback

From the other side of the party’s political landscape, congressional caucuses with roots in the Tea Party movement have slammed the bill as being insufficiently conservative, and decry its failure to completely repeal the ACA’s tenets.

The House Freedom Caucus held a press conference laying out their position, as Representative Mark Meadows said, “You have to get rid of Obamacare completely.”

Jim Jordan of Ohio followed up, saying, “The leadership plan is Obamacare in a different form.”

Caucus members plan to reintroduce their own repeal bill, with the same language as previous bills passed by Congress under the Obama administration.

While not explicitly affiliated with the Freedom Caucus, Senator Rand Paul has also been a strong voice against the legislation, and infamously spent the week before its release hunting for the “secret bill” in the Senate’s back hallways.

Industry Speaks Out

While they won’t have a vote, a variety of industry organizations affiliated with health care or its recipients have also come out in full force against the bill. The American Medical Association (AMA), American Hospital Association, American Nurses Association and American Association of Retired People (AARP) have all slammed the possibility of a steep dive in coverage rates that they say will result.

AMA President Dr. Andrew Gurman said, “By replacing income-based premium subsidies with age-based tax credits, the AHCA will also make coverage more expensive—if not out of reach—for poor and sick Americans.”

Meanwhile, the AARP says the proposals will sharply increase costs for senior citizens, and slammed the proposed age-banding mechanism as, “Washington politician speak for overcharging older Americans for their health insurance while lining the insurance companies’ pockets.”

The legislation is currently working its way through various committees and the amendment process before being brought to the floors of both chambers for a full vote.

On Monday, Alabama’s nine presidential electors held firm to their commitment to vote for Donald Trump.

The electors cast their vote during a ceremony in the Old House Chamber at the state capitol building. The event was presided over by Secretary of State John Merrill, while Governor Robert Bentley and Congressman Robert Aderholt were on hand to make remarks.

The results were not unexpected. Officials close to the electors, including Secretary of State Merrill and Alabama Republican Party Chair Terry Lathan, both assured voters that electors were solid in their support for Trump.

“I know each and every one of those electors and I know each and every one of them will remain faithful to their pledge to vote for President Trump,” Merrill told WBRC, adding that electors are required by law to uphold their pledge.

In November, Donald Trump won the Yellowhammer State handily with more than 62 percent of the vote.

In Alabama and across the nation, electors were bombarded with thousands of emails, letters, and phone calls from activists urging that Trump’s victory be overturned.

Last week, AL.com reported that Montgomery attorney Will Sellers, one of the state’s electors, reportedly received more than 2,200 emails urging him to switch his vote. Also an elector during the 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections, he told the news source that “it’s never been like this.”

“I’ve never seen this kind of wholesale, direct communications with electors,” Sellers said.

He went on to add that many of the calls, letters, and emails appeared to come from an organized call center or pre-written form.

In other states, John Kasich was able to secure one vote, as did Ron Paul. Others who received votes from electors included former Secretary of State Colin Powell and liberal Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Governor Robert Bentley raised eyebrows after recently withdrawing support from Donald Trump. Explaining the decision, he pointed to leaked audio that revealed the GOP presidential nominee to have made crude sexual comments about women. Now, irony be damned, he’s doubling down on his position.

During an appearance at the Leadership Huntsville-Madison County luncheon on Wednesday, the governor said that America is faced with choosing between “two of the worst candidates this country has ever had.”

Before addressing his decision to unendorse Trump, Bentley acknowledged that he’s faced a similar scandal. He then assured the audience that his own transgressions are fewer.
“I said, ‘you know, you know they’re going to mock me. And they’re going to make fun of me, because honestly I said something a few years ago I shouldn’t have said,'” Bentley told attendees. “I admit that. But let me say this, I don’t have a pattern of being derogatory and degrading women. I don’t have a pattern ever of degrading those who are disabled, those who have cerebral palsy, those who are not of the same color that I am. ”

“I just don’t have that attitude and I don’t think the leader of this country ought to have that attitude,” the governor added.

Now, Bentley says he plans to vote for “every Republican on the ticket except Trump.”

Prior to the GOP Primary election, the governor had campaigned for Ohio’s John Kasich. It was only until Trump’s candidacy became an inevitability that Bentley announced he would stand behind the Republican nominee.

“He will be the one that I support, and I will do whatever I can to help,” he said at the time.

Following the latest controversy surrounding Donald Trump, Governor Robert Bentley has officially withdrawn his support of the Republican presidential nominee.

“I endorsed Governor John Kasich for President, because I felt like he was the most qualified and the best person to lead our nation,” he said in a statement. “I certainly won’t vote for Hillary Clinton, but I cannot and will not vote for Donald Trump.”

He stopped short of demanding that Trump remove himself from the race, as some other Alabama Republicans have.

This announcement follows an audio tape leak that reveals Trump engaging in a lewd conversation with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. Trump later apologized for the exchange, in which he discussed grabbing and “moving on” married women.

“This was locker-room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course — not even close,” Trump said in a statement. “I apologize if anyone was offended.”

In March, audio leaked that exposed innuendo-filled conversations between Bentley and a top female aide.

“Let me tell you what we’re gonna have to do, we’re gon’ have to start locking the door. If we’re gonna do what we did the other day we’re gonna have to start locking the door,” Bentley said. “You know what, it is kinda scary. Somebody open that door? Mmm.”

“You know what?” he continued. “When I stand behind you, and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts, and I put my hands (unintelligible) and just pull you real close. I love that, too.”

Following revelations of Bentley’s conversations, several members of the Alabama legislature have called on the governor to resign. Lawmakers are currently moving forward with impeachment proceedings, though Bentley claims he did nothing to warrant removal.

Likewise, Representatives Bradley Byrne and Martha Roby have both called on Trump to step down.

In an in-depth piece titled “How Donald Trump Picked His Running Mate,” the New York Times on Wednesday unearthed some of the back story on the process that ultimately led to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence getting the nod. But for Alabamians, the most interesting insight may have been that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) — a longtime Trump ally — was not the only Alabamian who was considered for the slot; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was as well.

Five women made Trump’s initial list of potential VPs, four of which were either sitting governors or senators.

The last woman on the list was former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — a somewhat surprising inclusion, given Trump’s current disdain for the Iraq war with which Bush’s closest foreign-policy adviser will forever be associated. People “loosely affiliated” with the campaign, as Rice’s chief of staff Georgia Godfrey put it, paid a call to Rice and were informed that she had no interest in the job.

Rice, a Birmingham, Alabama, native who currently resides in California, has rebuffed numerous overtures to return to politics.

A poll released earlier this year showed Rice receiving the highest level of support of any potential candidate to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.). The L.A. Times called her the GOP’s “dream candidate,” but she decided to remain on faculty at Stanford University.

“I’m quite content to spend my life helping young people find themselves, I’ve had my fill of politics,” she said late last year. “I’m a very happy university professor… the best thing about being a university professor is that you see young people as they’re being shaped and molded toward their own future and you have a chance to be a part of that.”

As for Sessions, he made it further along in the Trump veepstakes and was included, along with five other individuals, in the final vetting process, which was conducted by Washington lawyer A.B. Culvahouse.

“Sessions, was a known ally,” the Times said of Alabama’s junior senator, “but, as a senator from the red state of Alabama, brought nothing to the ticket” as far as the electoral map was concerned.

“I was flattered to be vetted and go through the process,” Sessions told Yellowhammer by phone on Tuesday from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

He also had high praise for Pence.

“He’s a good man; he has a good heart,” said Sessions. “He led the conservative group in the House–the Republican Study Committee–so he knows what it takes to stand up to the Leadership. He ran again Boehner for Speaker. That’s a gutsy thing to do. The guy’s got guts and his values are solid. He’ll be an asset.”

According to the Times, Donald Trump, Jr., initially pursued Ohio Gov. John Kasich for the VP slot on behalf of the campaign.

“(Do you) have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?” The Times reports Kasich was asked.

When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.

Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?

“Making America great again” was the casual reply.

(…)

But Kasich effectively removed himself from the list by telling Trump in a phone conversation at the end of May that a joint ticket would be like two corporations with completely different philosophies and styles trying to merge.

(h/t NYT)

Influential Republicans in key battleground states are paying close attention to Donald J. Trump’s pick for a vice presidential running mate, and two Alabamians are on their list of preferred candidates.

In an informal survey, “GOP members of The POLITICO Caucus – a panel of activists, strategists and operatives in 10 key battleground states,” gave high marks to both former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and current U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

“Gaining the most support were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (13 percent), Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (9 percent), Ohio Gov. John Kasich (8 percent), former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (8 percent), Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (7 percent) and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (7 percent),” Politico reported.

Rice received particularly high praise from GOP insiders, many of whom believe she could bring valuable foreign policy experience to a Trump administration.

“She has everything that Trump does not,” one Florida Republican said of Rice, “everything.”

Rice is a former Stanford Provost and currently serves as a political science professor and on the faculty of the university’s graduate school of business. Her private sector experience includes board positions for the Carnegie Corporation, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, Charles Schwab, Rand Corporation and more. But she is most well known for her time in the Bush administration. She became the first female National Security Advisor during President George W. Bush’s first term. She went on the become the 66th Secretary of State, succeeding Colin Powell as the nation’s top diplomat.

Rice has for years resisted calls for her to jump back into politics, most recently rebuffing overtures from Republicans who urged her to seek a U.S. Senate seat in California.

“I’m quite content to spend my life helping young people find themselves, I’ve had my fill of politics,” she said late last year. “I’m a very happy university professor… the best thing about being a university professor is that you see young people as they’re being shaped and molded toward their own future and you have a chance to be a part of that.”

Trump has not been very specific about what he is looking for in a running mate, but did recently suggest to MSNBC’s Morning Joe team that someone with inside-the-Beltway experience could be helpful.

“I think I’ll probably go the political route,” he said. “Somebody that can help me with legislation and somebody that can help me get things passed and somebody that’s been friends with the senators and the congressmen and all.”

Those comments are consistent with an interview Trump did with the Washington Post in March, during which he said his VP would need to be “somebody that can walk into the Senate and who’s been friendly with these guys for 25 years, and people for 25 years. And can get things done. So I would 95 percent see myself picking a political person as opposed to somebody from the outside.”

Sessions, who currently heads Trump’s national security advisory committee, and Rice both fit that general description.

But Alabama’s junior senator has been dismissive of the vice presidential speculation in the past.

“I think that would not happen,” Sessions told The Hill. “I have not talked with him about it.”

Sessions has vocal backers in the Republican grassroots, many of whom have supported him for years as a result of his hardline position on immigration and trade.

Other conservative thoughts leaders, including Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and famed economist Thomas Sowell, have also voiced their support for Sessions.

“(S)omeone like canny Senator Sessions could make a very valuable contribution as vice-president, able to pass on to a new president the fruits of his experience in the Washington environment, along with his ability to resist the pitfalls of that environment,” wrote Sewell.

“Really, is there anyone out there who is better than Jeff Sessions on any of these issues? He’s great,” Ingraham said on her nationally syndicated radio program. “I think someone like Sessions could probably attract Democrats, Hispanics who are here legally who are tired of these stupid trade agreements and who have had their own wages undercut by illegal immigration, African Americans, certainly I think a lot of Tea Party people. Sessions is one of the few people to actually say it like it is.”

“He is right on the money,” Limbaugh lauded. “Well spoken and brilliant.”

But Sessions has always dismissed the idea that he should run on a national ticket.

“I always say, unlike my opponents, I know I’m not qualified,” he says with a laugh. “Don’t bet any money on me.”

Last Tuesday’s Indiana primary victory, along with the subsequent suspensions of Ted Cruz and John Kasich’s presidential campaigns, made real estate mogul Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee for president in 2016.

That means that at some point this summer, Trump’s Alabama headquarters in Montgomery will reopen.

The building that served as Trump’s headquarters prior to the Alabama primary this spring is one of Montgomery’s oldest pieces of real estate, dating back to the 1840s when the original Alabama capital building was constructed.

Stephen Decatur Button, the architect for Montgomery’s first capital building, designed Knox Hall, which survived the Civil War, multiple owners throughout the decades, an apartment building that was attached to the building during the 1950s and a fire during the building’s restoration during the 1980s.

“There’s no question, it’s the classiest and nicest Trump headquarters in the nation,” said former state legislator Perry O. Hooper Jr., who now volunteers for Trump’s Alabama campaign.

Montgomery historian Mary Ann Neeley sat down with the Alabama Center for Real Estate recently at Knox Hall, which sits at 419 South Perry St. in downtown Montgomery, and gave the center a little bit of insight into the history of the building.

“William Knox was an Irishman who came to this country in the early 19th century and married a girl from Tennessee,” Neeley said. “They came to Montgomery in the early 1830s.”

Knox, who would eventually commission Button to design Knox Hall, was the president of a local bank in Montgomery, Neeley said.

“The Knox house is the one that has survived through thick and thin,” Neeley said.

Neeley knows first hand about the home’s ability to survive the ages. She was a part of the effort to restore the house in the early 1980s when the home caught fire.

“We were about through, and one morning one of the men who monitors the police and fire radios all night called and said “Knox Hall is on fire,’” she said. “The fire department did a really good job.”

Neeley said that did not stop the restoration process.

“We went back and did it again and did what we needed to do,” Neeley said.

Between the time Knox’s widow died in the 1890s and the fire of 1983, Knox Hall passed through multiple owners who turned the home into a boarding house at one point.

During the 1950s, the trend to live in the downtown area led the owners at the time to build an apartment building attached to Knox Hall, Neeley said. That part of the property was demolished in the early 1970s.

Today, the home is owned by Montgomery businessman Bruce Reid, and the property is listed for sale or lease.

For the foreseeable future, however, Knox Hall will continue serve as the Alabama headquarters for Trump’s presidential campaign.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Governor Robert Bentley on Monday officially threw his support behind presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump just months after accusing the billionaire real estate mogul of using racist, misogynistic, and offensive language throughout his campaign.

“So, he will be the one that I support, and I will do whatever I can to help,” Bentley told Raycom Media.

The embattled governor had previously supported John Kasich, calling him ” a leader whose readiness to lead our nation on his first day in the Oval Office is unmatched.

“America needs John Kasich,” he continued, “and I am going to do everything I can to help make sure he is our next President.”

Bentley was also fiercely critical of Trump throughout the Republican primary.

“Here is a man who has, with his rhetoric, disregard and disrespect for women, for minorities, for people who have disabilities,” Bentley said, adding that Trump “would make fun of people who possibly had cerebral palsy or other problems.”

But Bentley saved his most pointed criticism of Trump for his failure to disavow support he received from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

“Obviously, he must have thought David Duke and that type of person was okay with people in Alabama and in the South,” said Bentley. “I’m going to tell you they’re not okay with us. They’re not okay with me as governor.”

Trump, who is typically quick to send press releases any time a notable elected officials endorses him, has not to this point publicly acknowledged Bentley’s support.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump won another big primary in New York, further extending his lead over his opponents, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Based on Tuesday’s results, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump’s only Senate endorsement, says he believes it is becoming almost impossible for anyone but Trump to win the Republican nomination this summer.

“It’ll be hard for any of these candidates to argue, it seems to me, they should leap over somebody that clobbered them in a big state like New York, especially when they have fewer delegates and fewer votes nationwide,” Sessions said.

Trump’s Big Apple victory brought his delegate count to 845, just 392 shy of the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination at the Republican National Convention. Ted Cruz currently has 559 delegates, and John Kasich trails far behind with 147.

Sessions also said that it would be easier for Bernie Sanders to take the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton with fewer delegates than it would be for Cruz or Kasich to take the Republican nomination from Trump. The New York businessman’s lead over his opponents is far greater than Clinton’s current lead over Sanders.

After publicly endorsing Trump in February, Sen. Sessions has become increasingly involved in the billionaire real estate mogul’s campaign. Shortly after his endorsement, Sessions was named the Chairman of Trump’s National Security Advisory Committee, and he was rumored to be in the running for Trump’s Vice Presidential pick. Sessions quickly denied those rumors, saying, “I think that would not happen. I have not talked with him about it.”

Sen. Sessions has called for Republicans to unite behind Trump, calling the campaign a “movement.” As other Republicans look for ways to take the nomination away from Trump, Sessions has remained the billionaire’s most prominent supporter.

Sessions says he has faith in Trump’s campaign team to secure the nomination. He recently met with Paul Manafort, a veteran campaign operative who joined the Trump team to retool the operation to better prepare for a contested convention.

“The campaign team has done a magnificent job to date, but I do think that [Manafort’s] experience in presidential campaigns is a very positive addition to the Trump efforts,” Sessions said. “He had a good visit yesterday on the Hill. He [met] three different groups of House members, and I think those went well.”

“I think the hire of Manafort also signals an expansion of the number of people, just because so many people are calling in, you can’t even return the calls … as small as they were to begin with,” Sessions continued. “This is a national movement, I think.”

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — It is safe to say that Governor Robert Bentley will not be voting for Donald J. Trump in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary.

Bentley harshly criticized the Republican frontrunner today and reaffirmed his support of Ohio Governor John Kasich, who he endorsed early in the race last year. Kasich is currently polling at 5% in Alabama, but according to Bentley’s comments Monday, no polling data on Earth could compel him to support Trump.

Governor Bentley accused the billionaire real estate mogul of using racist, misogynistic, and offensive language during his campaign.

“Here is a man who has, with his rhetoric, disregard and disrespect for women, for minorities, for people who have disabilities,” Bentley said, adding that Trump “would make fun of people who possibly had cerebral palsy or other problems.”

But Bentley saved his most pointed criticism of Trump for his failure to disavow support he received from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

“Obviously, he must have thought David Duke and that type of person was okay with people in Alabama and in the South,” said Bentley. “I’m going to tell you they’re not okay with us. They’re not okay with me as governor.”

Trump has said he did not disavow Duke during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper because he had a bad earpiece in and could not hear who Tapper was talking about.

As I stated at the press conference on Friday regarding David Duke- I disavow. pic.twitter.com/OIXFKPUlz2

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016

Bentley first endorsed Kasich back in August when the Ohio Governor visited Alabama. Calling Kasich “the only adult in the room,” Bentley has highlighted Kasich’s executive experience, something none of the remaining candidates have. “If you’re in Congress, you vote and give speeches,” he said. “But governors have to make decisions every day and presidents have to make decisions every day.”

But while some conservative leaders have said they would not support Trump if he wins the Republican nomination, Bentley said he would not break with his party.

“I am a Republican and I will support the nominee,” he said. “I do not think he is the best nominee. But I will support the nominee.”

Governor Bentley’s criticism of Donald Trump come just one day after Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions endorsed Trump at a rally in Madison. Sessions called Trump’s rise in this election “a movement.”

Twelve states, including Alabama, will hold primaries on Tuesday.

The most recent Alabama polling shows Trump with a double-digit lead with the support of 42% of likely GOP primary voters, compared to just 19% for Marco Rubio, 16% for Ted Cruz, 11% for Ben Carson, and 5% for John Kasich.

RELATED: Four big things to know heading into Tuesday’s Alabama primary elections

MOBILE, Ala. — Ohio Governor and GOP Presidential Candidate John Kasich will be visiting the Yellowhammer State next week. Kasich is scheduled to visit Wintzell’s Oyster House in downtown Mobile on Tuesday, November 3^rd.

The announcement came during a city council meeting when Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson commented that the Governor would be visiting The Port City.

This will mark Kasich’s second visit to the state of Alabama as a GOP Presidential Candidate, the first having been the acceptance of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s endorsement in August at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in downtown Birmingham.

“I’m humbled by Governor Bentley’s support,” said Kasich. “The endorsement of a fellow governor is special, especially from someone like Governor Bentley who brings so much to his work and who has such an incredible record of service to his state and our country.

What’s also significant to me is that Gov. Bentley reached out to our campaign, unsolicited, to offer his support. This is about our shared commitment to putting conservative principles to work to get America back on track. I’m very appreciative of his endorsement and I’m very excited about what we’re going to be able to do together to move the campaign forward in Alabama, the South and across the nation.”

At the endorsement meet-up the two Governors exchanged footballs that had been signed by UA football coach Nick Saban and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

According to WKRG News, Mobile Mayor Stimpson suggested Kasich’s visit next week is a product of the endorsement Bentley made back in August. Stimpson points to more visits that will be made by other presidential candidates perhaps signaling the importance the SEC presidential primary will play on March 1, 2016.

“We said when Trump came we felt like others would come we’ve already been contacted and know there is a third one in the cue, but it’ll be later in November, but I’ll wait to reveal that, we’re delighted Governor Kasich would come to Mobile,” said Stimpson.

Kasich has boasted as Governor of Ohio that he has helped guide his state from a budget deficit of $8 billion to a budget surplus of $2 billion. He also said that the state has created an economy that has added 350,000 private sector jobs.

In an interview with FOX10 News, Bob Omainsky, owner of Winzell’s Oyster House of Mobile, said after Kasich’s campaign contacted him about hosting the event that his immediate response was “yes.”

“The founder of the restaurant, Oliver Wintzell, was politically active,” said Omainsky. He goes on to say that it’s superstition to do kickoff party’s at Wintzell’s if you want to win an election.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at Wintzell’s in downtown Mobile and you can RSVP for the event here.

Former Auburn University and NBA star Charles Barkley on Wednesday told ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” that while he likes the Democrat Party’s “open-mindedness,” there is not a single Democrat currently running for president that he is interested in supporting.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time I vote Democrat, but there’s not a Democrat in the race that I like,” Barkley said. “I would like to see Elizabeth Warren or the mayor of San Antonio [Julian Castro], those are the only two Democrats that I would vote for.”

Then Barkley went a step further, surprising the hosts with his current choice of candidate.

“I’ve never voted Republican, but right now, I like John Kasich, the governor [of] Ohio,” he explained. “He’s the only person that I’m really paying attention to right now, to be honest with you… I want to vote Democratic because they’re more … open-minded. But right now, if I had to vote today, I would probably vote for John Kasich, but I haven’t made a decision.”

As for current frontrunner Donald Trump, Barkley said the real estate mogul and reality TV star has always been “nice and cordial to” him, but Barkley said he was concerned Trump is giving hispanics a “bad rap.”

“The Hispanics that I know are amazing people, they do work whites and blacks don’t want to do when there’s 120 degrees in Arizona,” he said. “But to paint with a broad brush Hispanics, I think it’s disingenuous.”

Barkley becomes the second high-profile Alabamian this week to express support for Governor Kasich. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley endorsed the Ohio governor on Monday during a press conference at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Mike and Mike’s full interview with Barkley can be heard here.

(h/t TheBlaze)

Like this article? Hate it? Follow me on Twitter and let me know what you think.

— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) June 9, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama Governor Robert Bentley joined presidential candidate John Kasich in Birmingham Monday morning to announce his endorsement of the Republican Ohio Governor.

According to a report from the Washington Post, Bentley reached out to Kasich after the first GOP Debate in Cleveland.

“John Kasich’s success in putting conservative ideas to work in Ohio—cutting taxes $5 billion, turning an $8 billion shortfall into a $2 billion surplus, and creating 350,000 new jobs—are all strengths he will have as President,” said Bentley. “Coupled with John Kasich’s compassion for the people he serves and desire to make their lives better, our country will be stronger with him as President. Governors are best suited to lead our country because they have experience running a state.

With his record as governor and his two decades on the House Armed Services Committee working with leaders like President Reagan to strengthen our military, end the Cold War and revamp the Pentagon, John Kasich is a leader whose readiness to lead our nation on his first day in the Oval Office is unmatched. America needs John Kasich, and I am going to do everything I can to help make sure he is our next President.”

This endorsement is a departure from 2012, when Gov. Bentley openly backed, but did not endorse, the very socially conservative Rick Santorum, who eventually won Alabama in the primary.

As Governor of Ohio, Kasich has had a relatively less conservative record than many of his Republican peers.

Kasich is one of the only Republican governors in the country who has expanded Medicaid under ObamaCare, and this move may add further fuel to the rumors that Governor Bentley is also considering ways to expand the program.

Bentley and Kasich also handled the Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage similarly, essentially telling their constituents that it’s time to move on, and both ran into opposition from their state legislatures for proposing tax increases.

Kasich has garnered early support from the more establishment wing of the GOP, who like his pragmatism and vast governing experience both as a member of Congress and as Governor of Ohio.

“I’m humbled by Governor Bentley’s support,” said Kasich. “The endorsement of a fellow governor is special, especially from someone like Governor Bentley who brings so much to his work and who has such an incredible record of service to his state and our country.

What’s also significant to me is that Gov. Bentley reached out to our campaign, unsolicited, to offer his support. This is about our shared commitment to putting conservative principles to work to get America back on track. I’m very appreciative of his endorsement and I’m very excited about what we’re going to be able to do together to move the campaign forward in Alabama, the South and across the nation.”

Like this article? Hate it? Follow me and let me know how you feel on Twitter!

— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A survey by nationally-known public opinion research firm McLaughlin & Associates shows former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the early frontrunner in a 2016 Alabama presidential primary fight that could see a half-dozen or more candidates with a legitimate shot to win the state’s 50 Republican National Convention delegates.

The scientific poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters, which was shared exclusively with Yellowhammer News, shows a crowded field led by Huckabee and followed closely by famed neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The current polling numbers are as follows:

Mike Huckabee — 19 percent
Ben Carson — 15 percent
Undecided — 14.6 percent
Jeb Bush — 13.4 percent
Scott Walker — 8.4 percent
Marco Rubio — 8 percent
Rand Paul — 6.6 percent
Ted Cruz — 5.6 percent
Chris Christie — 2.2 percent
Rick Perry — 1.8 percent
Rick Santorum — 1.8 percent
Carly Fiorina — 1.8 percent
John Kasich — 1 percent
Bobby Jindal — 0.8 percent

Huckabee’s position atop the survey comes as no surprise in the Yellowhammer State, whose large swath of “values voters” propelled the former Arkansas governor to a 2008 Alabama Republican primary victory. Huckabee garnered 41.25 percent of the vote that year, besting eventual nominee John McCain (37.1 percent), future nominee Mitt Romney (17.75 percent) and libertarian icon Ron Paul (2.68 percent).

Huckabee’s continued popularity in the poll stands in stark contrast to Alabama’s 2012 Republican primary victor, Rick Santorum. The former Pennsylvania senator received 34.55 percent of the vote in 2012, edging out Newt Gingrich (29.28 percent) and eventual nominee Mitt Romney (28.97 percent). In the latest survey, he stands in tenth place with less than 2 percent support.

McLaughlin & Associates president Jim McLaughlin told Yellowhammer Tuesday the poll is reflective of the fact that an eye-popping 72.8 percent of Alabama Republican primary voters identify themselves as Evangelical Christians. However, it is too early to tell what will happen over the nine months between now and election day, he added.

“The presidential race is wide open at this point, as you would expect this early on. It’s very fluid,” said McLaughlin. “Huckabee — who’s viewed as the Christian, moral conservative — is the frontrunner right now, but voters are just starting to get to know a lot of the candidates. Alabamians are looking for a leader who will change the course the country is on, and they’re open to hearing that message from a lot of different candidates.”

Alabama has actively sought to increase its role in the presidential nominating process and has joined with five other nearby states to form an “SEC Primary” that proponents say will force candidates to pay more attention to southern conservatives.

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— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) June 9, 2015