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Alabama election: Jeff Sessions faces Tommy Tuberville in GOP runoff for former Senate seat

By the end of the day, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions could see the sunset of his national political career, five turbulent years after becoming the first GOP senator to back then-candidate Donald Trump for President of the United States.

Sessions, who in 2015 was in his fourth term as a U.S. Senator, endorsed Trump at a rally in Mobile, Alabama, applauding his plan to build a wall across the country’s southern border. Sessions sealed the deal that day by putting on a “Make America Great” cap.

But a lot has happened in the ensuing years, with Trump turning on Sessions, his first attorney general, blaming him for not quelling an inquiry that would lead to a two-year investigation into possible Russian collusion and the 2016 presidential campaign.

Sessions resigned from the attorney general’s post in November 2018, and decided last year to make a run for his old seat, now filled by a Democrat, Doug Jones. On Tuesday, he faces former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville in a GOP runoff delayed due to the COVID-19 virus.

Tuberville, a political newcomer, has been endorsed by Trump. The winner will face Jones in the general election in November.

Here’s what to know about today’s election:

What Trump is saying about the candidates

Trump has had a contentious relationship with Sessions since Sessions recused himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump berated Sessions since the investigation was announced in 2017, saying his decision to name him attorney general was a mistake.

On Saturday, he took another swipe at Sessions, tweeting his support for Tuberville. "[He] is a winner who will never let you down," Trump wrote. "Jeff Sessions is a disaster who has let us all down. We don't want him back in Washington!"

Sessions responded to Trump’s tweet, this time a bit more forceful than in the past.

"My honor and integrity are far more important than these juvenile insults."

Trump continued his praise of Tuberville on Monday in a conference call with Alabama voters, saying Tuberville “is going to do a job like you haven’t seen.”

What they are saying about each other

Tuberville has refused to debate Sessions but continues to echo Trump’s criticisms of him, while Sessions has gone after Tuberville’s lack of political experience and low visibility on the campaign trail.

Sessions told Fox News last week that Tuberville is “hiding from issues. He’s weak on China. He’s weak on trade. He’s weak on immigration. All three of those, his statements are really troubling. He does not need to be Alabama’s voice in the United States Senate. I have stood firmly for our values. Stood up against hostility. I’ve been vetted. They’ve come after me. I’m not backing down.”

Sessions’ TV ads have mentioned Tuberville’s role in a hedge fund that defrauded investors and sent his partner to prison for 10 years.

He has also slammed Tuberville for living and “paying taxes” in Florida before returning to Alabama for a Senate run.

Asked about the hedge fund venture on the campaign trail in February, Tuberville said he was “an investor like the rest of them.”

“They sued me because I invested in it, and he used my name to get other people to put money in,” Tuberville said. “There was nothing ever implicated by anybody that I’d done anything wrong. I felt bad that he used my name.”

According to The Times, public records showed Tuberville “made introductions to potential investors, had business cards identifying himself as managing partner, and leased a BMW and got his health insurance through the company.” In 2013, Tuberville settled with those who had sued him.

As for his view of Sessions, Tuberville has consistently hammered him as someone who is “weak,” and who “quit on the president.”

Trump’s record in Alabama

Trump endorsed Alabama’s then-attorney general Luther Strange in the 2017 special election to fill Sessions’ seat after he was named U.S. attorney general. Strange lost to former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in a Republican primary. Moore went on to lose to Jones in the general election.

When do the polls close?

The polls in Alabama opened at 7 a.m. CT. They close at 7 p.m.

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