Jeff Sessions, Tommy Tuberville head to runoff in Alabama senate race

Ex-Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions are headed to a runoff after finishing atop a crowded field Tuesday of Republicans looking to unseat Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in November.

The GOP race tightened at the top as the unofficial tally trickled in, and with more than 76% of the vote counted unofficially, Mr. Tuberville held a slim lead, with  33.4% of the vote to the former attorney general’s 31.5%. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Mobile, who gave up his seat to seek the Senate, was third with 24.7%. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was running fourth, with 7.6%.

The top two finishers will face off in a March 31 runoff. The Associated Press made its call in the race just after 10 p.m., more than three hours after the polls closed, saying Mr. Sessions would be the Republican squaring off against Mr. Tuberville.

Mr. Tuberville told cheering supporters Tuesday had been “a good night for Alabama, a bad night for the Swamp.”

While Mr. Byrne did not concede Tuesday night, his team appeared to acknowledge the long-shot nature of his position. His endorsement will likely be sought by both Mr. Tuberville and Mr. Sessions in the coming weeks.

Mr. Sessions left the Senate in 2017 to lead the Justice Department, only to be forced out later by President Trump, who was frustrated the attorney general had recused himself from the investigation into false allegations the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

Despite the strained exit from Mr. Trump’s team, Mr. Sessions made his support for the president and his agenda the centerpiece of his campaign, as did the other Republicans in the race.

Mr. Sessions told Alabama voters he remains a stalwart backer of Mr. Trump’s presidency, Mr. Tuberville slammed his primary opponents as wishy-washy Trump supporters and Mr. Byrne noted he offered unwavering support to the White House during Mr. Trump’s impeachment.

The president let the candidates fight it out among themselves, choosing not to make an endorsement in the primary.

In 2017, Mr. Jones won the special election to replace Mr. Sessions through a combination of unlikely events.

Mr. Jones’ opponent then, Mr. Moore, was engulfed by allegations he sexually assaulted and behaved inappropriately with teenage girls decades ago. And, as one of few high-profile races that cycle, the long-shot Democrat raised mountains of money — most of it from out-of-state liberal donors eager to capture an Alabama Senate seat, however fleetingly.

“I have some terrible news for Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer: Doug Jones’ brief visit in the United States Senatea is just about over,” Mr. Sessions told the crowd at his campaign headquarters Tuesday night.

In this cycle, Mr. Sessions had been the front-runner from the moment he entered the race. After more than two decades as an Alabama senator, he was a household name, as was Mr. Tuberville from his time coaching at Auburn University.

It appeared Mr. Tuberville’s candidacy may have faltered down the home stretch when Mr. Sessions slammed him for only moving to Alabama recently to run for office.

Mr. Byrne also highlighted speeches in which Mr. Tuberville offered support for some sort of amnesty plan for immigrants.

But Mr. Tuberville’s better-than-expected showing Tuesday could spell trouble for Mr. Sessions.

“It certainly shows the weakness of Sessions,” said John Couvillon, whose political analysis firm JMC Analytics has tracked the race.

“As a sort of incumbent, he should have scored in the high 30, low 40 percentage, although the runoff becomes a different animal because of the Byrne and Moore votes.”

Whoever comes out of the March 31 runoff as the GOP candidate should be a heavy favorite against Mr. Jones, whom most professionals rate the most vulnerable Senate incumbent.

Mr. Jones’ votes against confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and in favor of Mr. Trump’s impeachment, both unpopular with most Alabamians, complicate his reelection bid.