BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Political analyst Steve Flowers said the 2024 U.S. presidential election is the one race that has everyone’s attention in the state.

With an early primary next year, Flowers said GOP presidential candidates will start campaigning in the state soon, and there are rumors that a GOP debate will take place in the state.

Flowers said it would be surprising if Alabama is chosen as a debate location.

“We’re a reliably Republican red state, and usually they will have those events in state that are swing states, which gives them deference to that state,” Flowers said. “So it doesn’t do them any good to come to Tuscaloosa.”

Among the candidates, Flowers said former President Donald Trump leads GOP candidates in polls.

“These indictments have assured Trump the nomination,” Flowers said. “What they have done is make Republican voters very angry, upset and made him a martyr every time they indict him, and when they indict him in Democratic enclaves, his polling numbers go through the roof.”

For the Democratic Party, incumbent President Joe Biden announced he would seek a second term back in April.

“There just that feeling that you don’t want to run against an incumbent president in your own party,” Flowers said.

Flowers said the president’s age may be a concern for Democratic voters.

“A lot of young people are Democrats, and they look at an 81-year-old guy kind of dotting around, and they can’t relate to him,” Flowers said. “But still there is an old saying that people vote against someone than vote for someone. So a young person may say I might not like Biden a lot, but they like him better than they like Trump.”

Alabama’s presidential primaries are March 5.