Bulwark Takes - He Voted for Trump Twice. Now He’s Running for Senate as a Democrat. (w/ Kyle Sweetser)

Episode Date: May 2, 2026

Sarah Longwell is joined by Kyle Sweetser, a former Trump voter and lifelong Republican who is now running for Senate in Alabama as a Democrat. Sweetser explains how Trump-era tariffs impacted his business, why January 6 pushed him into political activism, and why he believes Democrats can compete in deep red states by directly challenging MAGA politics instead of avoiding the fight. They also talk about the political realities of running in Alabama, Trump’s standing with voters, immigration rhetoric, working-class frustrations, and Sweetser’s strategy for winning over disaffected Republicans in a state Trump carried by more than 30 points.For a limited time, listeners can get an exclusive $25 off AuraFrame's best-selling Carver Mat frame at https://on.auraframes.com/BULWARKTAKES with code BULWARKTAKES.Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego on 5/20 and LA on 5/12: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events

Hey everyone, Sarah Longwell here, publisher of the bulwark. And I am joined by an old buddy of mine, Kyle Sweetser, who is running for Senate in Alabama as a Democrat. But I know Kyle, because back in our Republican voters against Trump days, you were somebody who had voted for Trump, who then broke hard with him, began to speak out against him. You spoke at the Democratic National Convention. you just were a vocal opponent. And here you are now running as a Democrat for Senate. You're in a primary where it looks like not a lot of polling in the Democratic primary in Alabama. Maybe you can tell us where you are, but I see Cal she has you as an 81% chance of winning.

So, Kyle, why do you just introduce yourself to the audience and talk a little bit about your journey? How did you go from a guy who voted for Trump twice, business guy, who then now finds yourself running for Senate in Alabama? Alabama as a Democrat. Hey, thanks for having me on. It's great to see you again. I know years ago back at a principals first with Governor Larry Hogan, you asked me if I planned on running for office. And that was the first time someone really asked me that.

So interesting, because now we're here. I'm a former Republican voter. I've voted Republican my whole life up into the point where I flipped. And, you know, we've got a construction background. I've worked hard my whole life, was pretty much born into construction. And when the Deepwater Verizon blew, I went out to work during the oil spill, getting after it, keeping the oil off of our beaches. So needless to say, I have a lot different background than most people in Washington, D.C.

Start my own business in 2016, going in out of people's houses, working on garage doors, waking up at 4 o'clock in the morning so other people could get out of their garage to go to work. And through that, going in to these homes and talking to people and seeing how they changed through, as I learned, MAGA's rhetoric was to blame Donald Trump, it disturbed me to the core. Hearing an increase of xenophobia, racism, and sexism to where folks were more open to say these things to a stranger, just really alarming. the fabric of our society was being torn apart and is being torn apart by this MAGA movement. People can't even eat Thanksgiving dinner with each other anymore because of what's happened after Donald Trump. When steel tariffs hit back in 2018, I got to see how they actually worked. There wasn't a whole lot of government outreach on it. And in my understanding of the Republican Party

was the party of free markets. And now you had this very confusing situation where the Republican Party was pushing something that Bernie Sanders used to push. These tariffs increased cost. And so this abandonment of what would be traditional conservative principles and values in the economic sense was sort of the beginning of a wake-up call for me as well. I got to see the price of products increase. And those costs get passed down to consumers.

They get passed down to the small businesses and you eat some of it. Some of it gets passed on. Some people down here in Alabama where we're ranked 49th in income, they can't even get a project finished or something they thought they would be able to do. They weren't able to do it because of these tariffs. So witnessing that and leaving that, that is a big part of why I'm doing what I'm doing today. But after January 6th, that was it for me. I started doing everything in my power to speak out against the MAGA movement. I was never involved politically in the past.

So it was a real turning point for me, and it didn't take a whole lot of thought. It was just something had to be done. I made the right people mad. And because of that, I was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention by the Harris campaign, where I delivered a speech about tariffs. and isolationism in the direction that Donald Trump was taking our country. So now I'm running to rein in the executive office at the top of my tattoo list. I really think it's so important that we put people in Washington, D.C.,

that are going to hold the executive office accountable, that are going to hold Donald Trump accountable. I want to pass legislation that undoes a Supreme Court ruling that says the president is above the law, which is outrageous. So let me ask you this. Okay. So your journey makes complete sense to me because I went on a somewhat similar one. But it sounds like the thing that made you break with him was sort of the personal consequences of some of Trump's policies on you that impacted your business. But then the thing that made you sort of an activist almost was some of the core things. It was less ideological. It was less about policy. It was about this guy's tearing the country apart. You know, people are being hurt. They're being hurt. They're being lied to. And so when you run now as a Democrat, is it enough to be anti-Trump or do you have sort of a set of policy positions that you think, do they transcend sort of normal Democrat Republican lines? Are you just, are you running as somebody who says like, look, I'm for the working class and I want to work to make their lives better? And I want to protect America from sort of this more authoritarian figure. Like, is that what's motivating you? Like, how do you run as a Democrat,

as somebody who's been a Republican your whole life? When I was going in and out of people's houses and hearing this change in our society, I think about my family. I think about my wife, who's half-tie, who our dad, was granted amnesty under Ronald Reagan, a Republican. And what I see and what I've experienced, Republicans' inability to pass immigration legislation because of political reasons is teaching a new generation to hate in our country. They are met the way that they are messaging on this, and they're raising a ton of money, they're whipping up their base. But the way they're messaging on this is, is dangerous. It's very dangerous.

It's turning neighbors on one another. So when I think about the future, I want my wife, I want folks like my wife, my wife's family. I want them to feel like the Americans they are instead of going out and wondering who views them as an enemy because of what the Republican Party is doing, what the Magda Republican Party is. is doing, turning people on their neighbors. So, and I'll frame it like this. You know, the way that they message, which you're very aware of, they target a specific group. And in this case, it's Hispanic immigrants mostly.

But any time that Hispanic person is an immigrant commits any sort of crime, it gets elevated in the news. And it would be like what they're doing, if you were to take someone, we have 300 million people that live in the United States. more than 300 million. If you were to look for, let's just say, someone with a red shirt that's committing murder every day and put them in the news, after six months to a year, that's all that you're showing. That would condition the population to be afraid and to maybe even hate people to have red shirts.

So what they're doing is they are conditioning people to hate immigrants. And immigrants are the lifeblood of this country. they are what have made America great. We are a country of immigrants. So that is a huge driver for me. And I think you'll find, especially talking to folks, the Republicans that you can win over, they're sensitive to this issue. They understand this issue, just how important it is that we do pass some sort of legislation

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So right now you're in a field. There's a field of other Democrats. My best understanding, and maybe you could tell me. me if it's consistent with yours is that you're currently at the top of that sort of Democratic field. And I mean, look, I looked at the Alabama numbers just before we hopped down really quickly, just to orient myself. Trump won it by 30 percent, you know, he was like plus 30 and a half percent. So that's not a lot of room for Democrats. But give me like both your theory of the case for winning the Democratic primary as a former Republican and then how you think you're going to

tackle a general election in a place where Trump just dominated in the 2024 election. We need three things. We need a motivated Democratic base, which we're going to have that. We need to press Republican turnout. We're going to have that. And the last part, we need to win over 200,000 Republicans at least. And that's what I'm going to focus on. I'm going to do that by focusing on the issues, by working to meet people where they're at, by using my background to talk in the way that we need to talk, like real. people instead of a space alien from Washington, D.C. that they're used to. One of the problems that I've experienced here is there is this push by some Democrats in the state to not fight,

to not call out Trump. I was warned many, many times when I first announced, don't talk about about Trump. You know, you can't call out Trump. I mean, so that that's a part of where this problem is. Democrats are used to laying on the ground and getting stomped on, and they have been comfortable with that over the years. I was in a forum last night. Great guy, great guy that that moderated that forum. He's top Democrat in the state. He told folks, though, I disagree with him here. Don't worry about the recent Supreme Court ruling where Alabama is probably going to lose all of our, he didn't frame it that way, but that's how I frame it, all of our Democratic representation. Don't worry about it. The law will take care of that. It'll be fine. And

just a day later, we're learning that that's not the case. Democrats in the state of Alabama have to stand up and fight. And so by standing against, standing up for the people, standing up and speaking out against the president instead of doing what Democrats have done in the past year in the state, which as far as I'm concerned, statewide the strategy has been, we'll hope Republicans are just so bad that will win. there'll be some kind of character flaw like Roy Moore. So my approach is much different, much, different. And it has caused quite a bit of friction, but it's necessary. It's hard to do. That's why no one's done it in the state of Alabama, but I'm committed to doing that.

And I'm committed to calling the president out on all of the terrible things that the executive office and MAGA movement are doing. If you're in a Trump plus 30 state, though, you do have to win over a significant number of Trump voters. I hear you, though. I hear you that, and look, it's part of the reason I wanted to have this conversation is I am interested as a practical political matter right now about people who have in a state like Alabama where Democrats, unless they're running against an active pedophile like Roy Moore, they don't win national elections. They don't win Senate seats. They don't win most elections. And so you've got to.

to pursue, you can, you can depress. So, you know, we're in an environment where Republicans are depressed and Trump's not on the ballot. We're also in an environment where Democratic enthusiasm will likely be as high as it's been. But like you said, 200,000 Republican voters, you've got to persuade. And now you have a unique profile from which to do it, because you, yourself, are Republican who has moved? But are you saying that your pitch to them is a, is a sort of, I'm going to stand up to Trump one? And is that compelling to sort of 200,000 Republican or are you trying to convince them to to vote for you on a different reason? Like, how are you going to persuade those 200,000 people?

Not everybody, despite what everyone thinks about Alabama and our reputation. Not every Republican loves Donald Trump. Well, I did look. He's only in a 53% approval rating in Alabama, which is much lower, actually, than I would have expected. You're right. And see, that's why we need to keep speaking up against Donald Trump. We're what?

I mean, we're starting out. If you view it based on Trump, if we're running against Trump, which everyone says they frame it that way, that's where we're at, we're starting out negative four. We're not starting out negative 20. And if you look at the opposition, Barry Moore, who is more than likely going to be the Republican Senate nominee, if you look at him, his entire platform, it is absolutely pathetic. He has tied his entire political career to Donald Trump. This guy has been in office, I guess, what, 15 years as a politician. He is a career politician that he's achieved so little that his entire platform, his ads are played everywhere. He calls himself a Trump Republican in the ad.

I mean, that is his entire identity. So making sure that the Maga Republican Party owns Donald Trump and all of his failures here in the state of Alabama is crucial. Continuing to speak the truth against, you know, the advice that we were given here in Alabama is driving Trump's numbers down. And a lot of it folks think that everyone is supporting Trump because they're racist. That's not true at all. Most people here in Alabama, we're ranked 49th in income. People are trapped in this poverty loop where, in some cases, they work seven days a week just to try to provide for their families for two jobs. And people don't have the luxury of being locked in politically.

So we've got cracked through to those folks. They don't have, you know, really the time because they're concerned about their children. They're concerned about, you know, paying their bills, paying their rent, putting food on the table. So I think it's just so important that we message in a way to reach those folks and we let those people know, hey, you need to come out and vote. If you look at the war with Iran, driving up costs, driving up costs to fuel. If you look at the terrorists, driving up costs to consumers, we're subsidizing some of Trump's buddies through those tariff taxes that we're paying. So, you know, we have got to stand strong, stand firm, and speak up against this MAGA authoritarianism in order to win. It is actually the key to victory.

It is everything but what the Democratic Party has done. So not doing so, it's a definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We're not going to do that this time. We're going to call Donald Trump out for the authoritarian. that he is, and we're going to run against the maga machine, and we're going to win in November. Yeah, I mean, it strikes me that saying to voters, hey, are you unhappy with the war and Iran? Are you unhappy with inflation? Are you unhappy that your grocery prices haven't gone down, as you were promised?

Then, like, send a message to Washington. Send a message to Trump. Like, let there be an earthquake in Alabama and send me and let them know you're unhappy with the job he's doing. I mean, I don't know. That's not a crazy pitch. Well, look at what's happening with the Supreme Court and in Alabama's history. Alabama is the birthplace of the civil rights movement. And now through this administration to the Supreme Court, through the MAGA movement, they are deleting that history.

Such a rich history here in Alabama. I think that's going to have a huge impact on this election because it is so specific, if you look at the history to Alabama. You look at the bridge crossing in Selma every year and how important that is. And you have this administration, this movement that is moving in the open to delete that history to say that no longer matters. we're going to have people that are really ticked off, that are really motivated to vote in so many different areas because his MAGA movement has harmed so many different folks across the state, whether they're government workers, whether they work in construction, whether it's folks in shipping and receiving or folks that rely on products to, you know, that, that, they're

come from overseas to complete their projects or complete manufacturing process here in the state. So you're going to see a lot of people, especially when we get on the other side of the summertime, that really are open to something new. And that's really what I would like people to understand here in the state of Alabama. This is something new. This isn't, you know, go back to 15 years ago when Alabama was still last place, okay, because we've been last place. Now, we've had 15 years of one party Republican rule here in the state of Alabama, and we're still last place. So it's time to send somebody to Washington, D.C., that has, and we really need more than just a few, that actually has a background dealing with people

face-to-face where they're comfortable to be themselves, that's worked out in the heat. the struggled that knows what it's like to be an everyday American because we do not have that in Washington, D.C., and that's why we're at where we're at. Yeah, I mean, this guy, what's his name, Barry Moore, he's the Alabama Attorney General. He is sort of like a election denying full mega-Trumper type, and I could see how you, normal guy, could connect better with voters, but that's going to require, I mean, he's got a, they got a big machine, a lot of money. What's your strategy? Is it like you just walk, are you, are you events? Are you going to fish fries? Like, what is, what are you doing to reach people and make sure that they know the specific

kind of person you are that is distinct maybe from how they think of Democrats in the state? Going all across the state talking to anybody and everybody. I've been speaking with a lot of unions and union halls, which has been very helpful because, you know, the leadership is traditionally, the Democratic leadership are folks that are Democrats, and then the membership votes heavy Republican, especially here in Alabama. So I've had the opportunity to talk to many of those votes. And yeah, I had somebody try to call me out on fishing as if I was a typical politician. And by the end of the short conversation I had, you know, he knew that I knew more about fishing than him. So, yeah, it is. You mentioned fish fries. We have so many events here across

Alabama, so many outdoors events. One of the things I've been doing since the beginning is I've been doing a lot of videos outdoors and mostly posting those videos to try to change the optics. And now a lot of people in the state, it's been successful, are now doing that. They're Democrats, which I hope they can be genuine about it. Otherwise, it will all blow up. But, you know, trying to use just everyday, everyday, optics, everyday images of how I actually am a regular person instead of putting on a suit

before I get on this podcast with you and putting makeup on or whatever Barrymore does, you know, and doing all this fake stuff. I think people are to the point that they see through it. They're tired of it and they crave something genuine. I can tell you at everyone that's running probably on the Democratic side and the Republican side, probably the only person that actually haunts. I'm probably the only person that knows how to tie a fishing knot. And that goes a long way with people.

I can tie a fishing nut. All right, Kyle. I tell you what, man, I admire what you're doing. I always admire people who put their neck out and try to do something to make a difference. And so I'm glad we got a chance to catch up. And I wish you the best of luck. And if you pull off the Democratic primary, we'll come back during the general and we'll check in, okay, man.

Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate the opportunity. And do not, please, y'all, do not count Alabama out. Everybody has just completely forgotten our state and they don't want to put any effort in. But I guarantee you, if we got the amount of resources that Texas has received over the years because Republicans have done so poorly here, we would be having a completely different conversation. But we're there.

This is the turning point. This is a once-in-generation opportunity. The MAGA movement, Donald Trump, has really botched things up so badly that this is the opportunity with a correct message, with a correct messenger to take Alabama, to flip that Senate seat and to take it to MAGA authoritarianism up. the Senate to hold the president account. Love it, man. Love it. Good luck to you. Thanks, Kyle.