Rep. Mo Brooks is regaining ground in Alabama’s expensive Senate race, and a grassroots immigration reform group has endorsed him shortly before the May 24 ballot.
“Americans for Legal Immigration PAC [ALIPAC] is launching online ads and sending in donors and volunteers to inform Alabama voters about Rep. Mo Brooks’ proven record as a national leader against Biden’s Border Disaster and AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty,” said a statement from the grassroots group.
“The most important issues in the 2022 elections are our sabotaged borders and immigration laws and reversing illegal immigration,” said ALIPAC founder William Gheen. “Mo Brooks is a clear choice and strong message Alabamians should send to the nation and the DC Swamp.”
The election is being held Tuesday, May 24. The top two candidates face a subsequent runoff unless one candidate gets more than 50 percent. Whoever wins the primary, will likely win the 2022 race for Alabama’s open Senate seat.
Brooks has a strong record against labor migration. His main opponent, Katie Britt, is trying to outshine him with promises to push for a 50 percent cut in legal migration.
The third candidate is Mike Durant, a pro-migration employer who is backed by out-of-state pro-migration investors.
“Right now, it looks like [Brooks] is going to be in the runoff, and two months ago you would have said there’s no chance of that,” Republican strategist Chris Brown told Politico, which continued:
[Donald] Trump’s decision to pull his support from Brooks — which came in late March as Brooks’ campaign floundered — wasn’t the death blow that many anticipated.
“I’ve not seen that move the needle,” said Terry Lathan, a longtime conservative activist in the state, who served as chair of the Alabama Republican Party until last year. “If it did, how is it possible Mo Brooks has picked up 10 to 15 points in polls?”
Lathan is now supporting Brooks, saying:
What people are saying — and I agree with them — is you can like Donald Trump on a ballot and his policies, but you can also like Mo Brooks and his voting record.
Massive spending for and against Britt, Durant, and Brooks is swaying the race, according to a May 20 report in the New York Times:
One factor driving the ups and downs in the race is a flood of attack ads from deep-pocketed outside groups aligned with the candidates, which have spent freely to drive up negative impressions of their rivals. When voters say they aren’t swayed by TV ads, Alabama is Exhibit 1 that that is not the case.
Mr. Brooks, who jumped to a lead in the race last year and was endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, was attacked by a super PAC that received $2 million from the Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senator Mitch McConnell. The Senate G.O.P. leader, who is often at odds with Mr. Trump for influence in the party, doesn’t want … Brooks to join his caucus next year.
The primary election takes place on Tuesday, May 24.