Welcome to our live blog of Alabama’s special Senate election primary. Our site doesn’t auto-update, so be sure to refresh for the latest. Newest info will be up top.
Polls close at 8 PM EDT.
Jeff Sessions’ appointment to Attorney General left his seat vacant. Since Sessions’ ascendancy to the DOJ, Luther Strange, former Alabama Attorney General has served as the appointed replacement.
Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore and Sen. Luther Strange advanced to a Republican primary runoff in Alabama’s special Senate race, which will put President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s political clout on the line in September.Moore had 41 percent of the vote and Strange — who was backed by Trump and McConnell — had 32 percent when the Associated Press called the race. Rep. Mo Brooks trailed at 20 percent. Alabama election laws call for the top two primary finishers to compete in a runoff if no candidate gets a majority.
The runoff is scheduled for September 26.
There are nine Republicans running in the primary, but three candidates have drawn the lionshare of attention. Incumbent Luther Strange has been endorsed by Senate Majority Leader McConnell and President Trump.
DecisionDeskHQ offers the following race overview:
After weeks of ads, mostly on behalf of incumbent Senator Luther Strange, the votes start rolling in tonight after 8pm EDT. Strange faces strong competition from former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who has led him in the polling average by about 5-6 points, and from Huntsville Congressman Mo Brooks, who has trailed Strange in the average by a little over the same margin. If polling is correct, Strange and Moore will advance to the September 26th runoff. We anticipate the first results will roll in within thirty minutes of polls closing. We’ll have comparison charts and a county-by-county display above as those numbers roll in.
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