Trump endorses Strange in Alabama's GOP Senate primary
Trump endorses Strange in Alabama's GOP Senate primary
http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnew...1348358994.jpg
By Alex Pappas Published August 08, 2017
President Trump made a surprise endorsement on Tuesday night in Alabama’s Republican Senate primary, throwing his support behind incumbent Sen. Luther Strange over the other conservative candidates running just one week before election day.
“Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama,” Trump tweeted. “He has my complete and total endorsement!”
The primary to fill the seat once held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions is set for next Tuesday, Aug. 15. A run-off will be held Sept. 26 if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, which seems likely in the crowded field though polling has been scarce.
Trump's endorsement is a major blow to U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, a conservative lawmaker who has been endorsed by pro-Trump figures, including Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity.
It's also a win for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose political operation has been boosting Strange while running ads portraying Brooks as not sufficiently pro-Trump.
“Mr. President, what an honor,” Strange tweeted after Trump’s announcement. “Thank you so much for your support and confidence. Proud to work with you to #MAGA #ALsen.”
During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Brooks supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, something his opponents have used against him. A super PAC with ties to McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund, has been running television ads of Brooks’ past critical comments about Trump.
Strange, the state’s former attorney general, was temporarily appointed to the seat in April after Sessions joined the Trump administration. His opponents have used that appointment from former Gov. Robert Bentley against him: Strange’s office was investigating Bentley at the time the governor made him senator. Bentley has since resigned from office in scandal.
The contest has been defined largely over candidates emphasizing their support of the president.
Like Strange and Brooks, the other major Republican in the race, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, has also emphasized his support for Trump in a state where the president remains widely popular.
Discussing Trump’s election to the White House, Strange said this month: "I consider it a biblical miracle that he's there."
Brooks has vowed to fight for funding for Trump’s border wall. “And if I have to filibuster on the Senate floor, I’ll even read the King James Bible until the wall is funded,” Brooks said in a recent ad.
Moore told the Associated Press in May: “God puts people in positions in positions he wants…I believe he sent Donald Trump in there to do what Donald Trump can do.”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...e-primary.html
Trump backs Luther Strange for Senate in Alabama’s special election
https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/med...0a8ed3c308d7f6
In this July 11, 2017, file photo, Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., responds to questions during a TV news interview on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
By Seth McLaughlin - The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 9, 2017
President Trump has endorsed Luther Strange in the special election race in Alabama to fill the seat that Sen. Jeff Sessions vacated to become attorney general — putting him on the opposite side of some of the most popular talking heads in the conservative movement.
“Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama. He has my complete and total endorsement!” Mr. Trump tweeted Tuesday night.
Mr. Strange, who was appointed to the seat when Mr. Sessions moved into the Trump White House, has vowed to stand with the president if elected.
The nine-candidate GOP field also features former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and Rep. Mo Brooks, who has endorsements from conservative commentators Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter.
The primary election is penciled in for Aug. 15. That will be followed by a runoff race if no candidate collects more than 50 percent of the vote.
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama. He has my complete and total endorsement!
6:16 PM - Aug 8, 2017
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ate-alabama-s/
