President Donald Trump will hold a campaign-style rally in Pensacola on Friday, Dec. 8, days before a pivotal Senate election just over the border in Alabama, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The rally will be held at the Pensacola Bay Center, the Post reported, citing a “person familiar with the planning.” Trump held two rallies at the 10,000-person arena during last year’s presidential campaign. Bay Center officials said Thursday evening that they have no information regarding a rally. The Pensacola Ice Flyers are scheduled to play at the Bay Center at 7:05 p.m. that evening.
Another potential venue would be the amphitheater at Pensacola’s Community Maritime Park, where Trump held a third rally last year just days before the election. City spokesman Vernon Stewart said Thursday evening that he wasn’t aware of any Trump event at the park.
Alabama voters will elect a new senator on Tuesday, December 12. Despite Alabama’s usual status as a Republican stronghold, the race has become a tossup after numerous women came forward to accuse Republican nominee Roy Moore of sexual misconduct. Trump has tacitly supported Moore despite those allegations, saying that Democratic nominee Doug Jones “would be a disaster.”
Because the Mobile, Ala. metropolitan area is in the same media market, a Pensacola rally could give Trump an opportunity to reach Alabama voters without actually visiting the state and specifically endorsing Moore.
Moore holds a five-point lead over Jones, with 5% of voters still undecided, according to a JMC Analytics poll released Wednesday. The poll has a margin of error of 3.8%.