Jeff Sessions Loses Race For GOP Nomination For Alabama Senate Seat To Trump-Endorsed Tommy Tuberville

by Polina KuznetsovaJuly 16, 2020, 12:28 pm2020 Election, Daily Digest, Homepage Slider, News, News Feed >

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lost the Republican nomination for his old Senate seat in Alabama to Trump-endorsed former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, who beat him with 60.7 percent of the vote.

“I leave elected office with my integrity intact,” Sessions said at the stage. “I hold my head high.”

The president publicly endorsed former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, who said that Trump is ”the best president we’ve had in my lifetime.” The former coach called Trump “a quarterback” who has “people hanging all over him, but he’s still completing passes.” Now he is a strong competition to vulnerable Democratic Senator Doug Jones in November.

Trump tweeted his joy over Tuberville’s victory and Sessions’ defeat.

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Sessions has been known to be Trump’s loyal supporter. Back in 2015, Sessions was the first Republican senator to endorse Trump to his presidency.

“At this time in American history we need to make America great again,” Sessions told a large and loud crowd on February 28, 2016, in Madison, Alabama. “I am pleased to endorse Donald Trump for president of the United States.”

However, when Sessions involved himself in Russia investigation, he fell on the wrong side with the President and angered him, despite staying his loyal supporter.

“I followed the law,” Sessions said about the Russia probe, adding, “and I saved the president’s bacon in the process.”

“People in Alabama voted against Jeff Sessions because Donald Trump told them to,” Angi Stalnaker, a Republican strategist in Alabama, told the New York Times. “If it had been Donald Trump saying, ‘Go write in Mickey Mouse,’ 50 percent of them would have gone to write in Mickey Mouse.”

“They wanted to please the president,” Stalnaker said. “This was never about Tommy Tuberville.”

Sessions told reporters he still supports Trump, despite him endorsing another candidate. He also proceeded to express his support for Tuberville in the next stage.

“Let me say this about the president and our relationship. I leave with no regrets,” Sessions said. “I was honored to serve the people of Alabama in the Senate, and I was extraordinarily proud of the accomplishments we had as attorney general.”