Two sources familiar with Jeff Sessions plans say the former U.S. AG will announce his bid to reclaim old U.S. Senate seat ahead of this week's filing deadline. It has been made clear to Sessions that Pres. Trump intends to campaign against him.
Sessions will face the scorn of Trump, who said this spring on Meet the Press that his decision to nominate Sessions as attorney general was the “biggest mistake” of his presidency. Trump has made it clear for months to individuals around Sessions that he would not hold back.
There have been questions about whether Sessions would be able to construct the campaign infrastructure to compete in a crowded GOP field ahead of the party’s March 3 primary. He has not run in a competitive race since his first campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1996.
Sessions, a 4-term senator, lost a network of allies since Trump’s election--some to jobs within the DOJ and other now-former WH aides who fell out of Trump’s favor. His former campaign manager and state director, Chuck Spurlock, died of cancer in 2013.
Sessions will enter this race with $2.5 million stowed away in his campaign war chest from previous fundraising. No small amount to start with in this Alabama primary.
Crowded Alabama Republican field (get ready for a runoff):
-Jeff Sessions
-Tommy Tuberville, former Auburn football coach
-John Merrill, current AL Sec. of State
-Congressman Bradley Byrne
-State Rep. Arnold Mooney
-Fmr AL SCOTUS Chief Justice Roy Moore
-Jeff Sessions
-Tommy Tuberville, former Auburn football coach
-John Merrill, current AL Sec. of State
-Congressman Bradley Byrne
-State Rep. Arnold Mooney
-Fmr AL SCOTUS Chief Justice Roy Moore
