The Most Cursed Senate Primary of All Time Is a Real Possibility

By Paul Blest  |  June 19, 2019 | 9:01pm
Elections

Folks, we are getting one step closer to the most awful U.S. Senate primary I could ever dream up becoming a reality: racist, homophobic, crypto-Nazi former Attorney General Jeff Sessions versus racist, homophobic alleged pedophile Roy Moore.

Moore will reportedly announce tomorrow whether or not he plans to make a second run for the Senate, after losing to Democrat Doug Jones in 2017 in the deep-red state. But today, Alabama’s senior Sen. Richard Shelby told the Washington Post that Sessions hasn’t ruled out making a bid for his old seat, which Jones took in the special election against Moore after Sessions became Attorney General.

“Sessions, I don’t think, has ruled it out,” Shelby said. “I’ve talked to him about it. I think if he ran, he would be a formidable candidate, formidable. I’ve not encouraged him to run, but he’s a friend, and if he ran, I think he’d probably clear the field.”

Jones is considered one of the most vulnerable senators up for re-election in 2020. When he defeated Moore in 2017, Jones became the first Alabama Democrat to be elected to the Senate since…Shelby, who was elected as a Democrat in 1992 and then switched parties in 1994. The Post noted that several other Republicans have already announced they’re running, including U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, secretary of state John Merrill, and former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville.

Sessions was fired by President Donald Trump the day after the 2018 midterms. Before becoming attorney general in an attempt to fulfill his lifelong mission of throwing everyone in jail, he was elected to four terms in the Senate by Alabama voters.

Trump has publicly encouraged Moore not to run this time. Considering how much he loathes Sessions—which, same—it’s clear that if this happens, there will be no winners. Everything old is new again.

Correction: A previous version of this post referred to Tuberville as the coach of the University of Alabama. He coached at Auburn.

 
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