Lynda "Lindy" Blanchard (born July 4, 1959) is an American businesswoman, diplomat, and political candidate who served as the

United States Ambassador to Slovenia The diplomatic post of United States Ambassador to Slovenia was created after the disbanding of Yugoslavia and the United States recognizing the new nation of Slovenia on April 7, 1992. In August of that year, the American Embassy in Ljubljana o ...

from 2019 until 2021, under President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and his administration. She was a candidate in the

2022 Alabama gubernatorial election The 2022 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, took office in 2017 upon the resignation of Robert J. Bentley (Alabama Republican Party, R) and won a full term in 2018 Alabam ...

, losing to incumbent Governor

Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey ( ; born October 15, 1944) is an American politician who is the 54th governor of Alabama, serving since 2017. A Republican since 2002, Ivey was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor o ...

in the Republican primary, having switched to that race from the Senate election. In March 2025, Trump named Blanchard as his nominee for

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Early life and education

Blanchard is a native of Montgomery,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics, with a minor in computer science, from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

in 1991.

Career

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

by President

in June 2018. On July 18, 2019, she was confirmed for the ambassadorship by the U.S. Senate with a 55–41 vote. Blanchard resigned from the post following the inauguration of President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

and was succeeded by Susan K. Falatko as Charge d'Affaires.

2022 Alabama elections

In February 2021, Blanchard announced her candidacy for the 2022 Senate election in Alabama to replace the retiring Senator

Richard Shelby Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Alabama from 1987 to 2023. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party i ...

, the first candidate to publicly launch a campaign. Blanchard's most significant opposition was Representative

Mo Brooks Morris Jackson Brooks Jr. (born April 29, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. His district was based in Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsvill ...

, who was, at that point, endorsed by former President

. In November 2021, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' reported that Trump was considering endorsing Blanchard if she withdrew her Senate campaign and ran for governor instead. However, such an endorsement never occurred. Blanchard officially switched races on December 7, 2021, announcing during a campaign stop in Wetumpka that she would be running in the

instead of the Senate race. 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. 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

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.

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.

Electoral history

References

External links

1959 births 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American women Alabama Republicans Ambassadors of the United States to Slovenia American women ambassadors Businesspeople from Alabama Living people People from Montgomery, Alabama {{Alabama-stub