By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
In the first major television buy in his bid to reclaim his old Senate seat, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., makes the case that he is the candidate Democrats most fear because he “won’t back down” when fighting for conservative causes.
Painting a bleak picture of “socialism, open borders, free health care for illegal immigrants” from Democrats who plan to “gut our religious freedom and freedom of speech,” the ad presents Sessions as the conservative stalwart to counter a cultural push to the left.
“Today’s Democrats want to redefine America – and they mean business,” Sessions says. “They don’t want me in the Senate because they know I won’t back down.”
See the full ad HERE:
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During his 20-year tenure in the U.S. Senate, Sessions was known as an immigration hawk, staunchly opposing efforts to offer a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. His stances on immigration and other conservative flashpoint issues later became major campaign tenets for then-candidate Donald Trump, whom Sessions endorsed in the 2016 Republican primary for president.
As Attorney General, Sessions earned Trump’s disdain by recusing himself from the investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 election, a move the president never seemed to get over and eventually led to Sessions’ outer as AG. Yet, Sessions maintains that he still supports the president and has made his early endorsement of Trump a key component of his run to reclaim his Senate seat.
According to Medium Buying, which tracks campaign advertising spending, the Sessions campaign is going up with a full broadcast and cable television buy this week. The Sessions campaign would not provide details of the size of the buy, but said the ad would run in every market statewide by the end of the week.
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Others contending for the GOP nomination include former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, state Rep. Arnold Mooney and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.