ALABAMA: House Freedom Caucus Rep. Mo Brooks Launches Bid For Senate Seat Vacated By Jeff Sessions

The Hill reports:

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) is jumping into the special election for Alabama’s Senate seat, setting up a primary battle with the GOP’s pick for the seat. Brooks will officially announce his candidacy Monday during a speech in Huntsville before barnstorming the state with events in Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile.

“I am running for the United States Senate because America’s status as the greatest nation in world history is at risk, because Congress is failing the American people by not rising to the challenges America faces, and because I am the only candidate for the Senate who has a record of proven conservative leadership,” he said in a statement.

Brooks will face off in the Aug. 15 primary with Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), the former state attorney general appointed to the seat by then-Gov. Robert Bentley (R) earlier this year. Strange got the seat after Jeff Sessions vacated it to become President Trump’s attorney general. The GOP establishment has made it clear that Strange will have the party’s full backing.

Also running for the seat is deposed Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.