“There’s a glaring omission as Democrats lay down millions of dollars to try and win control of the Senate: Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones,” Politico reports.
“The two leading Senate Democratic campaign groups reserved nearly $100 million for the fall in half a dozen states with Republican incumbents. But so far they have put down nothing to protect their most vulnerable incumbent and aren’t yet formally committing to spend big dollars for him.”
“President Trump’s campaign is demanding that Jeff Sessions, the former Attorney General, stop attaching himself to the president in his effort to win back his old Senate seat in Alabama, after Mr. Sessions distributed a campaign mailer that mentioned the president 22 times,” the New York Times reports.
From an unusual letter to the Sessions campaign: “The Trump campaign has learned that your U.S. Senate campaign is circulating mailers like the one I have enclosed, in which you misleadingly promote your connections to and ‘support’ of President Trump… The enclosed letter and donor form in fact mention President Trump by name 22 times. The letter even makes the delusional assertion that you are President ‘Trump’s #1 supporter.”
“The state of Alabama is postponing its scheduled March 31 primary runoff in the Senate race between Jeff Sessions and former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville,” the AP reports.
“Saying having people stand in line to vote is too risky right now, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said the runoff is being rescheduled to July 14. The winner will face U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in November.”
A new Cygnal Poll in Alabama finds Tommy Tuberville (R) leading Jeff Sessions (R) in the Republican Senate primary runoff, 52% to 40%, with 9% still undecided.
“Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session’s quest to return to the U.S. Senate will likely face a stiff challenge on March 31 in a competitive runoff against former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville,” the Birmingham News reports.
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has two Senate race rating changes this week: Colorado moves from Toss-up to Leans Democratic, while Alabama moves from Leans Republican to Likely Republican.
Republicans remain favored to hold the majority.
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), who is running to unseat Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) in November, released a new attack ad against fellow GOP primary contender and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, The Hill reports.
“In the new 30-second ad, Bryne criticizes Sessions for being forced by President Trump to resign as attorney general. The video also appeared to reference a common refrain, ‘lock her up,’ to dig at Sessions’ job while serving as attorney general, that was chanted about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during Trump campaign events in 2016.”
From the ad: “Hillary still ain’t in jail.”
A new WPA Intelligence poll in Alabama of likely Republican primary voters found Jeff Sessions leading the U.S. Senate race with 34%, followed by Tommy Tuberville at 29%, Bradley Byrne at 17% and Roy Moore at 6%.
A new Alabama Daily News/Mason-Dixon poll finds Jeff Sessions leading the Republican primary for U.S. Senarw with 31%, followed by Tommy Tuberville at 29%, Bradley Byrne at 17% and Roy Moore at 5%.
If no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote in a primary election, the contest goes to a runoff between the candidates with the top two vote totals.
In general election match ups with incumbent Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), Sessions wins 54% to 41%, Tuberville wind 50% to 42% and Byrne wind 51% to 42%.
With Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) voting to remove President Trump from office, the Cook Political Report moved the Alabama Senate race from Toss-Up to the Lean Republican column, meaning it is the first to move into takeover territory for either party this cycle.
“Jeff Sessions announced on Thursday that he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat he gave up when he became President Donald Trump’s first attorney general in 2017. But his campaign announcement video seems aimed at an audience of one: Trump,l the HuffPost reports.
“Sessions used the video to remind Trump of how loyal ― or at least silent ― he’d been since leaving the Justice Department.”
Before former Attorney General Jeff Sessions jumped into the Alabama Senate race this week, President Trump sent word to him “through allies that he would publicly attack him if he ran,” the New York Times reports.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) is expected to announce plans to run for his former Senate seat before Friday, two sources told The Hill.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R-AL) “has been taking meetings and making calls regarding a run for his old Senate seat,” Yellowhammer News reports.
“He is now strongly considering mounting a candidacy.”
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has two Senate ratings changes this week: The most vulnerable senator, Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), moves from Toss-up to Leans Republican, while Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) moves from Leans Republican to Toss-up.
Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) tweeted that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) “should go back to Somalia” after the Minnesota lawmaker called him a child molester.
He also called the freshman congresswoman an “avowed muslim” and a “sworn enemy of Israel.”
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) “elaborated on his comments about television’s preoccupation with ‘homosexual activities,’ saying that media coverage of the U.S. women soccer team’s World Cup championship has focused too much on the players’ sexual orientation,” the Birmingham News reports.
“There are no more good TV shows on like ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘Bonanza,’ ‘The Virginian,’ ‘Andy Griffith,’ ‘I Love Lucy.’ We don’t have those shows anymore. We’re too interested in homosexual activities. We’re too interested in seeing how this family’s finding a way to mess on this family or to see how people are trying to date on TV, or having wife-swapping on TV. That’s what we watch. When we push back against that, and we quit allowing it to be in our homes – that’s how those changes have occurred because we’ve allowed them to slowly but surely come into our lives.”
— Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R), quoted by Yellowhammer News, on the need to change popular culture.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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