Katie Britt, Mo Brooks headed to runoff for Republican Senate nomination

Former Business Council of Alabama CEO Katie Britt and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks Tuesday advanced to a June 21 runoff for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate that appears likely to keep arguments over former President Donald Trump and social issues moving forward.

With 91% of the vote counted Wednesday morning, Britt, a longtime aide to outgoing U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, had 288,745 votes (44.7%) in unofficial returns. Brooks had 188,142 votes (29.1%). Huntsville engineering firm owner Mike Durant, a veteran of the campaign that inspired the book and film, "Black Hawk Down," had 150,529 (23.3%). Three other candidates combined for about 3% of the vote.

In a speech Tuesday night, Britt presented herself as a socially conservative ally of Trump, and the coming election in apocalyptic terms.

"We have to go fight for the nation we know and love so that there will be something left for our children to fight for," she said.

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Brooks' second-place finish represented a a setback for Trump, who remains popular among Alabama Republicans but has struggled to impose his candidate preferences on them. Trump endorsed the congressman last year over Brooks' false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, but withdrew the endorsement after Brooks attempted to distance himself from Britt and Durant. Brooks then managed to mount a comeback.

In a statement Tuesday, Brooks' campaign touted that comeback and, like Britt, couched the coming campaign as war between Gog and Magog, presenting himself as an antagonist of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

"Call me Lazarus," Brooks said in a statement released by his campaign Tuesday night. "Back from the dead, resurrected by Alabama citizens who figured out who the real MAGA conservative is, and voted for America First."

Britt consolidated support early from establishment Republicans, and snagged a crucial  endorsement from the Alabama Farmers Federation. She managed to avoid the high-profile controversies that Brooks and Durant faced during the primary, using a large war chest to air ads attacking undocumented immigrants and transgender youth, two issues that have dominated Republican races up and down the ballot.

Britt said comparatively less about economic issues until recent weeks, when she began raising inflation issues in her campaign ads. She mentioned inflation in passing in her Tuesday speech, but focused more on immigration and her loyalty to Trump.

Voters who supported Britt said Tuesday that they liked her business background and saw her as a natural successor to Shelby, who steered rivers of federal money toward Alabama.

"Having Richard Shelby's ties are very important to the state of Alabama," said Ed Reifenberg, a retired accountant from Montgomery, adding, "I can't imagine Richard Shelby having to run a campaign to get down in the dirt like everybody did."

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At first, losing Trump's blessing was a blow to Brooks, who had incorporated the endorsement into his campaign logo. But referring to himself as "MAGA Mo," Brooks continued to hit his old issue of opposition to undocumented immigrants and sharpened his attacks on his opponents. He also benefitted from the continued support of the Club for Growth, a Washington D.C.-based PAC that kept up a relentless barrage of attacks on his behalf.

Republicans who voted for Brooks said they liked his opposition to undocumented immigrants. Most said his falling out with Trump did not affect their vote, or actually led them to vote for him.

“After Trump dropped him, he stood up and he didn’t hide from it,” said Lea Ann Hoogestraat, a retired economic developer who lives in Pike Road. “He didn’t try and smooth talk it. He addressed everything, and he has a good record.”

Durant, a first-time candidate, highlighted his military background and his loyalty to Trump, while attacking President Joe Biden and promising to maintain conservative stands on issues. But he avoided public appearances and refused to debate his opponents, and faced ongoing attacks over the airwaves.

Durant said in his concession speech Tuesday that "what I thought this would look like didn't end up being what it looked like," and joked he had "the most expensive PhD in political science known to man."

Both Britt and Brooks Tuesday signaled that they would go on offense over the next four weeks. Britt accused Brooks of opportunism, citing criticisms of Trump's immigration plan that Brooks made as a surrogate for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign in 2016.

"It's really just one example of the way people say or do anything to benefit themselves politically, no matter what the truth actually is," Britt said. "And that, folks, is the definition of a career political. It's always about them."

Brooks in his statement called his opponent, "Mitch McConnell's Katie Britt."

“Katie Britt is a Chamber of Commerce lobbyist backed by McConnell and the Swamp," the statement said. "They are bragging about trying to buy this seat for Britt."

The winner of the June 21 runoff will face Democratic nominee Will Boyd, the 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com. Updates at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday with new numbers and Durant concession. 

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama Primary: Katie Britt, Mo Brooks head for U.S. Senate runoff