MONTGOMERY, Ala. (CN) — Republican Alabamians overwhelmingly endorsed Katie Britt as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, all but assuring her victory in the November general election.
About 90 minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night, with 33 of 67 counties reporting, Britt led controversial U.S. Representative Mo Brooks with 65% of the vote, who conceded the runoff from a ballroom in Huntsville.
Britt, an attorney and the former chief of staff for outgoing Senator Richard Shelby, appeared at a campaign rally in Montgomery. Flanked by her two young children and husband Wesley, Britt acknowledged she was an underdog when she entered the race last year. At the time, Brooks was polling above 60% and was seen as one of former President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies.
But as the campaign developed, Brooks stumbled. Despite standing by Trump as he contested the results of the 2020 election, Brooks eventually told voters they need to move beyond it, and Trump quickly cast him aside. Other candidates never generated statewide support, while Britt traveled to all 67 counties, appearing almost daily at Republican gatherings, chambers of commerce meetings and marquee events.
“People said we can’t win, people said this will be David versus Goliath,” Britt said Tuesday night. “But Alabama’s future is worth fighting for, and this mission is worth fighting for.”
After the primary election May 24, she won Trump’s endorsement. Amid her victory speech, Britt tipped her hat to Trump and others who endorsed her campaign, suggesting “people across Alabama miss [Trump’s] America First agenda, and we are going to the United States Senate to fight for it each and every day.”
“We want new blood and we want fresh blood,” she said. “We want someone who will fight for Christian conservative values, who will fight for the freedoms and liberty this nation was founded on, and will fight for that American dream for the next generation.”
Although Britt will face Democrat Will Boyd in the general election Nov. 8, Alabama has not sent a Democratic candidate to national office since electing Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate in 2017 amid accusations that his Republican challenger, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, pursued inappropriate relationships with underaged females well into his 30s. Jones only lasted one term before being defeated in 2020 by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, the former head football coach at Auburn University.
In his concession speech, six-term Congressman Brooks remained predictably on-brand, alluding to both Boyd and Britt while sarcastically congratulating the Democratic Party for what he called its support of “two nominees in the general election.” Brooks believes crossover voting in the primaries added to Britt’s tallies at the polls, but also accused the Democratic Party and unnamed special interests of secretly endorsing and financing Britt for her alleged promises to provide “open borders and cheap foreign labor.” Britt denies those allegations.
“I’m not pleased about congratulating these special interests but they rule Montgomery, they rule Washington D.C., they corrupt the public policy debate with the way in which they handle these matters. They fund the campaigns so they can do the kind of dirty work they did in this particular election,” Brooks said.
He also attacked the statewide news media for “falling flat on its face” for not championing his perceived truths.
“America quite clearly lost,” Brooks said. “Assuming my opponent wins the general election, we are sending to Washington D.C. the exact opposite of what we need in the United States Senate. But the voters have spoken. They may not have spoken wisely, they may have been seduced by blatantly false advertising, but nonetheless they have spoken and I respect their will.”
Britt was more gracious, not mentioning Brooks other than simply thanking him for his campaign and promising to win over his supporters before November.
With a statewide voter turnout of slightly more than 11%, other results indicated State Representative Wes Allen defeated State Auditor Jim Ziegler for secretary of state with 64.7% of the vote; State Representative Andrew Sorrell defeated pastor Stan Cooke for state auditor with 58.1% of the vote; and the two incumbents on the Alabama Public Service Commission — Place 1 Representative Jeremy Oden and Place 2 Representative Chip Beeker — were reelected with 52.4% and 62.7% percent of the vote, respectively.
The state’s only race on the Democratic ballot was runoff for gubernatorial candidates, where retired educator and great-grandmother Yolanda Flowers defeated Malika Fortier with 54.4% of the vote.
After her victory, Flowers told Courthouse News Service she has received no help from the Democratic Party for her campaign, but instead relies upon friends and family.
“We haven’t received any support from the [Democratic Party],” Flowers said. “We reach out to God and are thankful for whatever he provides.”
Flowers said she knows her odds are long, but the most important mission is encouraging people to uplift themselves and get out and vote, no matter who they vote for.
“That’s the loudest we can speak,” she said.
Follow @gabetynes
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