Lynda Blanchard

Lynda "Lindy" Blanchard (born July 4, 1959) is an American businesswoman, diplomat, and political candidate who served as the United States Ambassador to Slovenia from 2019 until 2021, serving under former President Donald Trump and his administration.[1][2] She was a candidate in the 2022 Alabama gubernatorial election, losing to incumbent governor Kay Ivey in the Republican primary, having switched to that race from the Senate election.

Lindy Blanchard
United States Ambassador to Slovenia
In office
August 29, 2019 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byBrent Hartley
Succeeded byJamie Harpootlian
Personal details
Born (1959-07-04) July 4, 1959
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJohn Blanchard
Children7
EducationAuburn University (BS)

Early life and education

Blanchard is a native of Montgomery, Alabama.[3] She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics, with a minor in computer science, from Auburn University in 1991.[4][5]

Career

In 2004, Blanchard founded the 100X Development Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama.[6] Blanchard is also the founder and former senior advisor of B&M Management Company, a real estate investment firm.[4]

Blanchard was nominated as United States Ambassador to Slovenia by President Donald Trump in June 2018.[7] On July 18, 2019, she was confirmed for the ambassadorship by the U.S. Senate with a 55–41 vote.[8] Blanchard resigned from the post following the inauguration of President Joe Biden and was succeeded by Susan K. Falatko as Charge d'Affaires.[9]

2022 Alabama elections

In February 2021, Blanchard announced her candidacy for the 2022 Senate election in Alabama to replace the retiring Senator Richard Shelby, the first candidate to publicly launch a campaign.[10]

Blanchard's most significant opposition was Representative Mo Brooks, who was, at that point, endorsed by former President Donald Trump. In November 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering endorsing Blanchard if she withdrew her Senate campaign and ran for governor instead.[11][12] However, such an endorsement never occurred.[13]

Blanchard officially switched races on December 7, 2021, announcing during a campaign stop in Wetumpka that she would be running in the 2022 Alabama gubernatorial election instead of the Senate race.[14] Her gubernatorial campaign launched a television advertising campaign on January 3, 2022, which cost approximately $1.175 million, in order to raise her profile among voters in Alabama.[15]

In the May 24 primary, Blanchard finished in second place in the gubernatorial race, with 19% of the vote. However, the election did not go to a run-off, as incumbent Governor Kay Ivey surpassed the threshold to avoid a run-off. Blanchard conceded defeat to Ivey but also indicated that she was interested in pursuing other political efforts in the future.[16]

Personal life

She is married to John Blanchard, a businessman in real estate. Together, they donated over $2.6 million to Republicans from 2015 to April 2019.[7]

Electoral history
2022 Alabama Republican gubernatorial primary results[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kay Ivey (incumbent) 356,347 54.46%
Republican Lynda Blanchard 125,915 19.24%
Republican Tim James 105,936 16.19%
Republican Lew Burdette 42,803 6.54%
Republican Dean Odle 11,720 1.79%
Republican Donald Trent Jones 3,906 0.58%
Republican Dave Thomas 2,879 0.44%
Republican Stacy Lee George 2,539 0.39%
Republican Dean Young 2,344 0.36%
Total votes 654,290 100%

References
  1. "Lynda Blanchard Endorsed as New US Ambassador". www.total-slovenia-news.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  2. "Ambassador Lynda C. Blanchard | U.S. Embassy in Slovenia". 2019-08-20. Archived from the original on 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  3. "Former Trump administration official to run for Alabama senate seat". al. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  4. "U.S. ambassador and Auburn alumna tours Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, commends Auburn's cyber focus". Auburn University. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  5. "Lynda Blanchard, Auburn grad and former ambassador to Slovenia, running for Alabama Senate seat". CBS 42. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  6. "Lynda Blanchard". FUTURE 4.0. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  7. "Trump inaugural donors got ambassador nominations. Are they qualified?". NBC News. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  8. "Lynda Blanchard". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2019-07-21. pp. B2. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  9. "Susan K. Falatko is now Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana". U.S. Embassy in Slovenia. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  10. Axelrod, Tal (2021-02-18). "Trump's Slovenia Ambassador Lynda Blanchard jumps into Alabama Senate race". TheHill. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  11. Bender, Michael C. (November 20, 2021). "Republican Governors Distance Themselves From Trump, Drawing His Ire". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  12. Koplowitz, Howard (November 20, 2021). "Trump reportedly offers Lynda Blanchard endorsement against Kay Ivey if she'll drop Alabama Senate run". AL.com. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  13. Samuels, Alex; Rakich, Nathaniel (May 23, 2022). "11 Primaries To Watch In Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota And Texas". Five Thirty Eight. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  14. Grass, Jonathan (December 7, 2021). "Blanchard drops Senate bid, enters governor's race". WSFA-12. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  15. Stacy, Todd (January 4, 2022). "Blanchard begins ad blitz in bid to unseat Ivey". The Anniston Star. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  16. Monger, Craig (May 25, 2022). "Blanchard concedes gubernatorial primary race". 1819 News. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  17. "Unofficial Primary Results". Alabama Secretary of State. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.

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