Headed into Tuesday’s primary in Alabama, former Business Council of Alabama head Katie Britt was expected to be a lock for a June 21 runoff election.
As it turned out, she made the runoff with plenty to spare. With nearly 90% reporting, Britt topped Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) by 15%, a little over 100,000 votes, for 44.7% of the vote.
Brooks earned 29.1% of the vote to beat out U.S. Army veteran Mike Durant by six points, who finished with 23.3% of the vote. Brooks earned more than 37,000 votes than Durant, securing his spot in the June 21 runoff.
The Real Clear Politics polling average showed Britt ahead with 35% of the vote but with Brooks nipping at her heels with 29% on the eve of Tuesday’s vote.
Britt outperformed the polls by 10 points, showing strength in Alabama’s rural areas and North Alabama, where it was expected to be a slugfest between Brooks and Durant, who both hail from Huntsville.
Alabama’s U.S. Senate race has had many twists and turns, with Britt, Brooks and Durant spending time as the frontrunner.
Brooks led early, buoyed by high name identification and former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Little by little, throughout the second half of 2021, Britt chipped away at Brooks’ lead. However, Durant, a latecomer to the race, had an early 2022 surge and led by double-digits, according to a Hill/Emerson College survey in late March.
As Durant took the lead, Trump “rescinded” his endorsement of Brooks, pushing him back to a distant third place.
By April, Durant’s lead deteriorated, and Britt moved into the lead spot, with Brooks continuing to rebound from his March lows.
However, the Britt campaign’s slow and steady approach, partnered with an aggressive attack ad campaign from Britt-aligned PACs, pushed Britt to a plurality of votes on Tuesday.
Brooks and Britt will battle it out for the Republican Party’s spot on the November ballot on June 21. The winner will face Democratic Party nominee Will Boyd, who won his party’s nod outright on Tuesday.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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