By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
It didn’t take long for the two remaining Republican candidates in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race to train their campaign firepower on one another.
After finishing first and second, respectively, in the March 3rd primary election, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions used their “victory” speeches to draw stark contrasts with the other candidate.
“Anyone can say they are for the Trump agenda, but talk is cheap, but I have fought on the great issues of our day and won,” Sessions said Mobile Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.
“Only one candidate in this race will support Donald Trump down the line. Doug won’t. Jeff didn’t. But Tommy will,” Tuberville, countered
That election night soapbox rhetoric has now been turned into carefully crafted, highly stylized campaign attack ads designed to undermine voters’ trust in the other candidate.
Tuberville was first up with an ad using President Donald Trump’s words against Sessions. It plays a clip of the president telling NBC’s Chuck Todd that appointing Sessions was the biggest mistake of his presidency.
Trumps was highly critical of Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing the Department of Justice investigation into Russia’s attempt to influence the 2016 election. As part of of the Trump campaign, Sessions has maintained that had no choice but to recuse himself.
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Soon after, Sessions’ campaign launched an attack of its own using Tuberville’s previous words against him to paint him as a “tourist” from Florida. The ad shows an old video of Tuberville discussing the beauty of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, where he moved after he retired from coaching. Throughout the campaign, Tuberville has fended off ongoing questions about his residency by showing he has an Alabama driver license.
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The runoff election to decide who will face Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in November is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31.