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Alabama Senate candidates Katie Britt and Mo Brooks are headed to a GOP primary runoff election in the Yellowhammer State after no candidate in the race garnered more than 50% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
The leading contenders for the Republican nomination in the Alabama Senate race were Katie Boyd Britt, former Sen. Richard Shelby’s chief of staff, who once led the Business Council of Alabama; Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., an outspoken conservative in Congress who received an endorsement from Trump but later lost it; and Mike Durant, a business owner in the state and a former Army pilot who was involved in the “Black Hawk Down” incident.
Alabama Senate candidates Mike Durant (L), Katie Britt (M), Mo Brooks (R) (Durant campaign / Britt campaign, / Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call )
The runoff election between Brooks and Britt will be held on June 21.
“I have never feared for America’s future like I do today,” Brooks told his supporters Tuesday night after it became apparent he would enter a runoff election against Britt. “America needs fighter. Momentum is on our side so that every one of you and the people of Alabama learn the history … and fight like our ancestors fought for us.”
“Don’t let the special interest groups mislead you,” he added, urging those listening and in attendance to “do their homework” before voting in the runoff election.
Trump weighed in on several races that took place on Tuesday in the Yellowhammer State and had initially endorsed Brooks last year. Trump later rescinded the endorsement after he accused Brooks of going “woke” when he told voters in the state it was time to place focus on the 2022 and 2024 elections, instead of looking back to 2020. Brooks was one of few members in Congress who offered overwhelming support for Trump following his loss in the 2020 presidential election, which Trump continues to reject.
ALABAMA VOTERS HEAD TO THE POLLS IN HEATED REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES FOR SENATE, GOVERNOR
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., speaks to Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie ahead of the Republican primary in the race to be Alabama’s next U.S. senator. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Trump took a shot at Brooks on his TRUTH Social platform that debuted earlier this year.
“CAN’T DO THAT MO,” Trump wrote in response to a report that Brooks was still using campaign mailers claiming to have Trump’s endorsement.
While Trump offered no further endorsement of a candidate in the race ahead of the primary election, Britt told Fox News Digital last week that she had the opportunity to update him on the race and touted herself as “the best candidate to advance the America First agenda.” If elected, Britt, who was perceived throughout the race as a more establishment-minded candidate, would become the first woman from Alabama to obtain a seat in the U.S. Senate.
“Enough is enough,” Britt said from Montgomery on Tuesday night as election results poured in. “We live in the greatest nation in the globe, even on our worst day.”
Alabama Senate candidate Katie Britt stands alongside her son and daughter as she speaks to members of the media after voting in Montgomery on May 24, 2022. (Britt campaign)
“Our campaign has taken off,” she added. “People know I am the best candidate in the race.”
Emphasizing certain protections for Alabamians and Americans, Britt said “we must fight for the American dream.”
Durant, who is projected to finish at a distant third in the race faced numerous battles during his campaign for the Senate, with questions about out of state donations and potential ties to a Super PAC being at the forefront.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Durant was potentially connected to a national group tied to Big Tech executives that hoped to move the center of power in the U.S. Senate to the middle by electing moderate senators in races this year and beyond. His campaign was heavily supported by the Alabama Patriots PAC.
Republican Alabama Senate candidate and former “Black Hawk Down” pilot Mike Durant speaks with Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie ahead of the Alabama primary elections. (Brandon Gillespie/Fopx)
Britt, Brooks and Durant all received substantial support from voters in the state throughout their campaigns, but ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Brooks surged in the polls and took second place behind Britt.
While most eyes were focused on the Republican race for Senate, others took into consideration that incumbent Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who largely refused to debate her opponents, could find herself in a runoff election.
Ivey, who formerly served as state treasurer and lieutenant governor for the state, became Alabama’s 54th governor in 2017 after then-Gov. Robert Bentley resigned due to a sex scandal involving a political aide. She was first elected to the position in 2018.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey speaks during a presentation at the opening of a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle Battery Factory. (REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage)
Billing her tenure at the helm of the state in campaign ads as “Alabama’s most conservative governor,” Ivey has remained largely in step with Alabamians as she opposed policies offered by the Biden administration. But her handling of COVID-19 and placing blame on the unvaccinated for the continuation of the pandemic did not resonate well with many voters in the state.
Ivey became emotional Tuesday night as she claimed victory in the Alabama GOP primary for governor in the state, thanking her supporters for their support over the years.
“We could not have done this, it would have not have happened, if it was not for each and every one of you here tonight,” Ivey said. “Your thoughts, prayers, support, and votes have helped us win the Republican primary tonight outright.”
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“With all my heart, I thank you,” Ivey said with tears in her eyes. “I thank you with all my soul. Y’all have been great supporters. I’m so proud to be your governor.”
“Tonight, Alabama spoke loud and clear about our conservative results,” she added, touting accomplishments during her tenure as governor. “It’s a record I’m sure proud of.”
Last July, Ivey pleaded with voters in the state to get vaccinated as she insisted that “folks are supposed to have common sense.” At the time, Ivey said it was “time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the vaccinated folks” and claimed the unvaccinated residents in Alabama were “letting us down.”
Ivey faced numerous opponents who received praise throughout the state in recent months, including Tim James, a businessman and the son of former Alabama Governor Fob James; Lynda Blanchard, a businesswoman who served as the United States Ambassador to Slovenia from 2019 until 2021; and Lew Burdette, a Vestavia Hills native and the former chief operating officer for Books-A-Million.
