Alabama’s U.S. Senate race moved to the next stage Wednesday as the runoff field was set for the Republican nomination and the Democratic matchup was established following Tuesday’s primaries, according to the Associated Press. The state is also looking ahead to a high-profile governor’s race in the fall and to congressional races that could be reshaped by a redistricting fight, AP reported.
For the Republican nomination in the open Senate seat, former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson advanced Wednesday to face U.S. Rep. Barry Moore in a June 16 runoff, AP reported. AP said Hudson styled himself as a political outsider and narrowly edged Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in the Republican primary.
Hudson also tied his campaign message to national politics after advancing. “We made history last night, Alabama!” Hudson wrote on social media, adding that, “DC money is going to have to punch a lot harder if they want to stop this grassroots movement.”
Moore, AP reported, has been backed by President Donald Trump. AP said Moore, a three-term congressman, told supporters that the state deserves a “Trump conservative” in the Senate, and he also promised that if elected he would be “a warrior for President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.” “We’re going to win this thing, and God’s going to bless this great nation,” Moore told supporters after advancing to the runoff, AP reported.
On the Democratic side, AP reported that the general-election prospects for a rematch are taking shape through a separate runoff. Business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess advanced to a runoff, though AP said either candidate would face an uphill climb in Alabama, which remains deeply Republican.
The Senate seat is open because Sen. Tommy Tuberville won his Tuesday primary as the Republican nominee for governor, AP said. AP reported that Tuberville will be replaced by the Democratic nominee in a race for the seat he has held, with AP noting that Tuberville will face former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in the governor’s race and that Jones is the last Democrat to win a statewide election in Alabama.
AP said Jones, in remarks after advancing in the governor’s race, urged supporters to “give us a chance, to join us, to be that force for change,” and that he was scheduled to make an appearance Wednesday in Birmingham with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association. AP also reported that Tuberville framed his governor’s contest as a competition of ideologies, saying, “I’m not running against him. I’m really not. I’m running against socialism and communism.”
Beyond the Senate runoff, Alabama’s congressional contests have also moved into a period of uncertainty over redistricting, AP reported. AP said voters cast ballots in all seven congressional districts on Tuesday, but that Republicans plan to replace the results in four districts with an Aug. 11 special primary using newly redrawn maps that remain subject to litigation.
AP said Alabama is among several Southern states that have moved quickly to redraw congressional House maps after a U.S. Supreme Court decision weakened the Voting Rights Act. AP reported that federal judges scheduled a Friday hearing on a request by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to block the state from changing maps.