Cullman County is known around the world as “Trump Country.” So much so, Agence France-Presse (AFP) sent a crew to Cullman and Winston counties recently to explore the counties that had the highest vote count for Trump in 2016. In that election, 90.1 percent of Winston County voters chose President Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, compared to 88 percent of voters in Cullman County.

The AFP reporter said his audience was interested in knowing more about the Trump voters and where they come from spiritually and culturally. They toured the Ava Maria Grotto and other religious sites, and also spoke to Steve Cummings, Cullman County GOP chairman.

Who are Trump voters? Cummings answered that question with: “It’s real down to earth people. We like leadership skills and we like the way it’s not flowery, it’s not pretty but it gets the job done.

“We’re not impressed by fancy words, we’re impressed by people that shoot you straight,” he added. “And you know what you’re getting when you’re finished talking with them; they don’t talk in circles. They say something and they stand by it.”

While some Republican voters have said they would like the president to tweet less or tone them down a bit, Cummings is not among them. “He’s been ganged up on. Before he ran for president, everyone loved him,” said Cummings. “You kind of have to fight back a bit and he’s fighting sometimes with sarcasm.”

He said voters had also gotten used to Republican leaders who did not fight back. That’s not the president’s style. “You don’t have to be measured and you don’t have to be calculating if you’re not lying,” said Cummings. “You can afford to get out in front of people and say what you feel.”

Ethel Alexander, who serves on the Colony Town Council, is among those who would like to see leaders show more restraint.

“I’m 66 years old and I’ve never seen it like this,” she said. “You can just cut [the tension] with a knife. The animosity, the name calling from people who are supposed to be educated – our leaders”

Senator Doug Jones, running for reelection to the U.S. Senate, made a rare stop by a Democratic candidate at the Cullman County Fair this month. A group of about 20 supporters met him there, asking questions and expressing their support for his campaign.

Alexander was among them. She said that after meeting with Jones at the fairground, she’s decided to vote early by absentee ballot.

“I’m going to go up to the courthouse, go up to the third floor, make that left turn and go vote,” she said. “Because I may not be here in two weeks. Who’s to say I won’t get Covid? God forbid, but you don’t know. The virus doesn’t discriminate.”

She said this election feels different to her than the 2016 contest between Clinton and Trump.

“This time around we’re looking at the racial climate, the pandemic and the economics of it where people are just not making it.

“It seems like our government has dropped the ball,” she added.

During his stop in Cullman, Jones said he doesn’t believeTrump will win Alabama by as large a margin as he did in 2016.

Cummings said he couldn’t speak for all of Alabama but sees support for the president being just as strong in Cullman in 2020 and it was in 2016, if not more so. In fact, he’s pushing for an even higher turnout with a friendly contest between Cullman and Winston county Republican voters.

“We had signs made and then they had bigger signs made,” he laughed.

To win, Cummings said his focus has been getting Republican voters to the polls. “It’s about voter turnout, it’s not about changing minds,” he said.