Jeff Sessions.
Former Alabama Senator and Trump administration Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to announce a senate run tomorrow. The Hill. Sessions would be barely squeaking by the filing date as all candidates must declare by Friday. Supporters say that Sessions will run on a "pro-Trump" agenda and will denounce Democrat's effort to impeach the President. Much attention will likely be paid to the rocky relationship Jeff Sessions and President Trump had during his tenure as Attorney General. Trump has blamed Sessions for recusing himself on Russia, thus allowing the Mueller investigation to happen. It is very unclear if the President would support Sessions, or if he would endorse one of his opponents in the primary election. Sessions joins a crowded field, including failed Senate candidate Roy Moore who lost to current Alabama Senator Doug Jones. There is still a small chance that Sessions could decide not to run.
My Comment:
I've already covered this story but I thought it would be worth a quick update. I'm generally opposed to Sessions running. I think he has a chance to win but he's got a ton of baggage from his tenure as Attorney General. He's unlikely to get support from President Trump and there are some other candidates in the race that don't have the baggage he has.
That being said, it might be worth it if it keeps Roy Moore from being the candidate again. I have said in the past the Moore got screwed in the special election. He famously got accused of being a child molester without much in the way of proof. It was damaging enough that he lost the election against Doug Jones in Alabama, one of the most solid red states. If Moore becomes the candidate again I can't see him beating Doug Jones. Even without the support of President Trump, I think Sessions has a much better chance of winning over Moore.
So what will President Trump do? My guess is that he will support one of the other candidates, most likely Representative Bradly Byrne or former Auburn University coach Tommy Tuberville. If he does it might be enough to torpedo Session's chances. I think there is basically no way that Trump endorses Jeff Sessions in the Primary race, even if it looks like Roy Moore is going to win. His best hope is that Trump simply decides to sit out the race and focus on his own election campaign.
Will Trump endorse Sessions if he's the candidate? I'm not sure. There is a lot of bad blood there, to the point where Trump said the Sessions hire was the biggest mistake of his Presidency. It's hard to disagree with that as had Sessions not recused himself he could have either made sure the Mueller investigation was reigned in or prevent it from happening in the first place. The fact that didn't happen makes Trump think Sessions was incompetent at best and a traitor at worst.
That said, getting Doug Jones out of the Senate would be a win for the GOP and President Trump. Trump's going to need as many allies in the Senate as he can get for his 2nd term and Sessions is at least saying he will be on President Trump's side. However, Mitt Romney said the same thing and he stabbed President Trump in the back so I doubt he will be in a forgiving mood.
My greatest concern with Sessions is that I don't know if he is all there anymore. The difference between Sessions the Senator and Sessions the Attorney General was huge. He basically did nothing in his post other than chase after marijuana dealers in states where it's legal. I still wonder if he hasn't started to get senile in his old age.
So what is going to happen in the Alabama Senate race? I think that it's very likely the GOP gets back the seat unless Roy Moore is the candidate. Sessions will probably become the candidate unless President Trump takes a personal interest in the race. If he does become the candidate, Trump will probably reluctantly endorse him, or at the very least, stay out of the race. Either way, I think Sessions will probably be the next Senator of Alabama.
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