Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump’s former attorney general, has lost the Republican nomination in Alabama for his old Senate seat, after enduring months of attacks from the president. His loss to Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach, most likely marks an end to Sessions’ long political career.
Tuberville, a relative newcomer to politics beat Sessions in Tuesday’s Republican runoff, foiling Session’s efforts to win back the Senate seat he held for two decades before resigning in 2017 to become Trump’s attorney. Trump, who endorsed Tuberville and encouraged Alabamans to reject Sessions, celebrated the news on Twitter.
Sessions, 73, was among the US president’s earliest supporters, endorsing and legitimizing Trump’s candidacy while other prominent Republicans stood back. He earned Trump’s ire after recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“I thought I might have the ability to contribute in some way to the future of our country,” Sessions said, conceding at a Hampton Inn in Mobile. He urged his supporters to back Tuberville: “He is our Republican nominee, we must stand behind him in November.”
The longtime politician was first elected to the Senate in 1996. His hardline anti-immigration views, racist policies and conduct have made him a controversial figure in national politics. Sessions is said to have called a Black prosecutor “boy” and commented that he thought the Ku Klux Klan “was OK until I found out they smoked pot” and discussions of his racism re-emerged during his confirmation to become attorney general.
Familiar to Alabamians from his decade as Auburn University’s head football coach, Tuberville, 65, is now positioned for a robust challenge against the Democratic senator Doug Jones. With Alabama’s strong Republican tilt, the seat is widely viewed as the party’s best chance for a pickup as they try to maintain their thin Senate majority amid Trump’s sagging national popularity.
“Throughout this election, I’ll be fighting for many of the same ideals, the same principles, and the same God-given principles that my father and other members of the Greatest Generation fought for so many years ago,” Tuberville said in a victory speech.
Addressing Tuberville’s victory, Jones said: “The choice before the voters is an unprepared hyper partisan that will add to the divide in Washington, or my proven track record to find common ground and get things done.”
Trump had endorsed Tuberville after Alabama’s March primary, tweeting: “3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began. Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That’s why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville, the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda!”
The president continued his criticism of Sessions right up to the eve of Tuesday’s election.
“I made a mistake when I put him in as the attorney general,” Trump told Tuberville supporters on Monday. “He had his chance and he blew it.”
In the closing weeks of the runoff campaign, Sessions answered Trump directly on Twitter, telling the president he was “damn fortunate” Sessions recused because it “protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration”.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome dynamics that Tuberville willingly embraced. Boosted by both Trump’s endorsement and name recognition from his coaching tenure, Tuberville positioned himself as a political outsider and capitalized on the president’s criticisms of Sessions.
“Jeff Sessions was a disaster. It’s time to send a message to Jeff Sessions that President Trump does not want him or his cronies in the swamp,” Tuberville wrote on Twitter.
Tuberville ran a risk-averse campaign, declining media interviews and Sessions’ challenges to debate in the closing weeks of the campaign. Despite Alabama’s fundamental Republican advantage, Tuberville is almost certain to face more scrutiny in a general election campaign against Jones.