In case you didn’t know (between the horrid “bi-partisan” gun bill the Senate is attempting to pass and the distressing news out of Uvalde), there are several primaries and runoff elections happening tonight.
One race that RedState has watched closely is the Alabama Senate contest. Former President Donald J. Trump first endorsed, then pulled said endorsement from U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, and instead backed his challenger Katie Britt, a former Chief of Staff to Sen. Richard Shelby, who is retiring from this Senate seat.
The runoff contest became a choice between the true MAGA candidate and the Republican establishment candidate.
On Tuesday night, Britt was declared the winner.
The voters of Alabama can decide which category Britt fell into.
Katie Britt, a former leader of the Business Council of Alabama, has defeated Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., in the Alabama GOP Senate primary runoff election as she aims to become the Yellowhammer State’s first elected female senator later this year.
The runoff election between Britt and Brooks came after neither candidate garnered more than 50% of the vote in the May 24 primary election. Both candidates were running to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who has served more than 35 years in Congress and tossed his support behind Britt.
In an interview with Fox Digital, Britt affirmed that because Trump chose to endorse her, she was the true MAGA candidate:
Britt said she was “excited and grateful” to have Trump’s support as “people are ready for new blood.”
“Alabamians loved the president,” she said at the time. “They miss the America First agenda and they are ready for our country to get back on track.”
Despite losing Trump’s endorsement, Brooks did his level best to maintain his MAGA creds and paint Britt as a bought-and-paid-for establishment candidate who would be a rubber stamp for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The whiff of outside money from New York and Texas, as well as some shifty PAC transactions, lent some credence to this.
Brooks, who recovered from his earlier struggles on the campaign trail and forced Britt into a runoff, was hoping to engineer a “David versus Goliath” comeback of his own.
Despite losing Trump’s endorsement and seeing his pleas for the former president to “#ReEndorseMO” fall on deaf ears, Brooks continues to run as the true pro-Trump candidate in the race. The congressman has accused Britt of being an establishment sellout who will kowtow to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Trump has been attempting to foment a rebellion against McConnell for nearly a year; that has not appeared to help Brooks, either.
Today is Election Day. America needs fighters in the Senate, not rubber stamps for Mitch McConnell. The DC Establishment thinks our seat is for sale. I ask you to vote for Mo Brooks and show them it’s not.
— Mo Brooks (@MoBrooks) June 21, 2022
But with Trump’s endorsement, Britt saw a surge in the polls that helped her make it to a runoff on Tuesday. Polls closed in Alabama at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Two hours later, the race was called for Britt who had garnered 79 percent of the vote.
Brooks posted a concession of sorts on Twitter:
Every single person who helped this campaign is a patriot who loves America, and I thank you for it. This isn’t the outcome we wanted, but I am proud to have fought for our country. America, and you all, are worth it. God bless.
-Mo
— Mo Brooks (@MoBrooks) June 22, 2022
Every single person who helped this campaign is a patriot who loves America, and I thank you for it. This isn’t the outcome we wanted, but I am proud to have fought for our country. America, and you all, are worth it. God bless.
-Mo
Britt will challenge Pastor and former Democrat Party Chair Will Boyd on November 8. With Alabama being bright red, and the Democrat Party imploding, Britt is expected to win handily.
RedState will continue to keep an eye on the race.
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