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Alabama will hold a Republican primary runoff election on Tuesday and the two candidates — one currently endorsed by former President Trump after the other lost his endorsement earlier this year — are set to face off for a seat in the Senate to represent the Yellowhammer State.
The two contenders, former Business Council of Alabama leader Katie Britt and Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., are running to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who has served more than 35 years in Congress.
Trump, who has weighed in on multiple races taking place across the country ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, initially endorsed Brooks last year. He later rescinded his endorsement and accused Brooks, one of few members in Congress who offered overwhelming support for Trump following his loss in the 2020 presidential election, of going “woke” when he told voters in the state it was time to place focus on the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Senate candidates Katie Britt (L) and Mo Brooks (R)
(Andi Rice, Bloomberg via Getty Images / AP Photo, Vasha Hunt)
Last week, Trump endorsed Britt and said in a statement that she is “a fearless America First Warrior.” Speaking to Fox News Digital in an interview this week, Britt noted the impact of Trump’s endorsement and said she is “excited and grateful” to have Trump’s support as “people are ready for new blood.”
“Alabamians loved the president,” she said. “They miss the America First agenda and they are ready for our country to get back on track. People are energized.… We’ve been to all 67 counties and we have not let up meeting with people, listening to them.”
Following the primary election that took place in Alabama on May 24, Fox News Digital spoke with Brooks, who claimed he is the true “MAGA candidate” in the race.
“I am the MAGA candidate,” he said. “Katie Britt has a record of being the anti-MAGA candidate. I am the conservative. Katie Britt has a record that is anything but conservative.”
Brooks, who told Fox News he had not spoken with Trump since he lost his endorsement, claimed Britt has “publicly supported more tax increases than any other Republican candidate in Alabama history” and has a “history of being weak on border security and cheap foreign labor and virtually every special interest group that craves cheap foreign labor has endorsed and is financially supporting Katie Britt. In more general terms, this will be a David vs. Goliath or a people vs. the machine type of election.”
Katie Britt, a Republican Senate candidate for Alabama, speaks during an election night watch event in Montgomery, Alabama, US, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
(Andi Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
TRUMP ENDORSES ALABAMA SENATE CANDIDATE KATIE BRITT AFTER FLIPPING ON MO BROOKS
Responding to Brooks’ remarks, Britt said she believes “Donald Trump has told who the MAGA candidate is in this race.”
“People know that I am best to fight for the America first agenda,” she said. “President Trump said it himself. … We need the next generation of conservatives to step up so that we can preserve the nation we know and love.” Stressing the importance of the “America first agenda,” Britt said it is imperative that the nation focus on “sealing and securing of our borders” and “energy dominance.”
“We’ve got to rein in spending so that the dollar in people’s pocket is worth more,” she added.
Despite Brooks’ remarks on her candidacy and record in public service, Britt said she would “absolutely” support Brooks should he prove victorious in the election on Tuesday. “I will support the Republican nominee for Senate,” she said. “I believe strongly that we have got to take back both the House and the Senate and the presidency in 2024. We must do that so we can put back in place the America first agenda.”
“We’ve got to return to a place where we’re putting hardworking Americans and Alabamians first and giving them a pathway to success,” she added.
Regarding the last presidential election that ultimately resulted in a Biden presidency, and rhetoric surrounding it as it relates to election integrity, Brooks said he believes the “big lie” was that there was “no significant voter fraud or election theft activity in 2020.”
Mo Brooks speaks to supporters at his watch party for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator of Alabama at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Huntsville, Ala.
(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Britt similarly offered frustrations about the 2020 presidential election and insisted it was riddled with “major problems.”
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“I’ve said many times that there were major problems with the 2020 election and we have to make sure that we uphold the integrity and security of our elections,” she said. “I’ve called for a forensic audit to make sure we get to the bottom of it and that people can have faith in our electoral process. I believe that if people lose faith that will be a crack in our democracy.”
Brooks said his decision to run for election to represent Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District in the House in 2010 is not something he did out of “personal gain.” Instead, he said he ran for the seat because he was, and still is, “concerned about the direction of America with out-of-control deficits, socialized medicine, and open borders.”
The GOP primary runoff election in Alabama between Britt and Brooks will take place on June 21.
