Last Updated on May 25, 2022
The Alabama GOP Senate primary will be decided in a run-off election after U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former head of the Business Council of Alabama Katie Britt will face off on June 21. Britt, who secured the most votes, did not exceed 50% of the vote. Businessman and combat veteran Mike Durant finished third, with Jack Schafer and Lillie Boddie finishing a distant fourth and fifth, respectively.
A Britt-Brooks run-off election figures to be a clear choice between the GOP establishment and the MAGA grassroots. Brooks made waves several months ago by becoming one of the first GOP Senate candidates to renounce Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the party’s leader in the Senate. Brooks even took a pledge to vote against McConnell and encouraged other GOP hopefuls to do the same. Consequently, McConnell and the GOP establishment have gotten behind Britt.
Brooks has been gaining momentum as of late. Up until some recent polling, Brooks was believed to be trailing both Britt and Durant. He surged in final polling of Alabama’s Senate race, surpassing Durant.
BREAKING — Mo Brooks is surging in Alabama Senate Republican Primary
Katie Britt 30.8% (-1.2)
Mo Brooks 28.5% (+6)
Mike Durant 24.3 (-2.9)+- changes from May 6
May 15-16 / 634 LV / ADN/@cygnal https://t.co/UWN5wYYOOI pic.twitter.com/btXYaXYdXH
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) May 19, 2022
Now, he looks to pull support from Durant and overtake Britt in the run-off. Durant himself has said that he will support Mo Brooks.
“I would absolutely support Congressman Brooks because the way the Britt campaign has handled this race — if you’re going to be that corrupt in an election, then you’re going to be that corrupt in office. We’ve got enough of that,” Durant told WHNT.
Mo Brooks had previously secured the backing of former President Donald Trump, who “unendorsed” him for telling supporters not to dwell on the question of whether or not the 2020 election was stolen. The pulled endorsement seemed to be a large factor in Brooks’ drop in the polls at the time.
In addition to McConnell, Britt has had support from other anti-Trump Republican operatives. A recent Britt fundraiser was organized by people close to former Tennessee senator Bob Corker and Utah Senator Mitt Romney.
