HUNTSVILLE, Ala. A Conservative firefighter and staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump who came under fire for remarks before the attack on the US Capitol has joined the primary field of Alabama GOP to replace Senator Richard Shelby.
U.S. Representative Mo Brooks announced his entry into the race on Monday night. Brooks joins former Trump ambassador Lynda Blanchard in the GOP by-elections, which is expected to attract a number of other hopefuls. Shelby announced earlier this year that he will not seek re-election in 2022.
Brooks has been criticized, and two House Democrats have suggested he be condemned by Congress for his fiery speech during the January 6 pro-Trump rally in the Capitol.
“Today is the day that American patriots start taking names and kicking a hole,” Brooks said during the Save America rally. Brooks said his remarks were intended only as a speech for the next election cycle and that critics were misrepresenting them.
Brooks said Stephen Miller, who was Trump’s leading immigration policy adviser, would be his special guest during the Campaign Rally and Announcement, which is being held at gunpoint in Huntsville.
Miller was an influential force in campaigning for Trump’s efforts to curb immigration. He designed the former president’s Muslim travel ban and is widely seen as the driving force behind the Trump administration’s toughest immigration policy.
Shelby said earlier this year that he would not seek re-election in 2022. His announcement is expected to give way to a confused GOP by-election at a time when the national Republican Party is trying to take a direction after Trump’s resignation.
The only announced candidate in the Senate race is Lynda Blanchard, Trump’s former ambassador to Slovenia. Blanchard saw her as a strong defender of Trump’s legacy. In an effort to deter other candidates, Blanchard has pledged $ 3 million for television airtime until the May 24, 2022 primary election.