In an interview published on Friday with The Baldwin Times’ Cliff McCollum, Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) validated speculation that he is considering a 2020 run for the U.S. Senate.
“I’m actively looking at it,” Byrne said to the Times. “I’ve got a lot of things I’ve got to do in addition to that. We don’t take our eye [off] the ball with the job we’ve got now. I love what I’m doing now. I’m not dissatisfied in the least with what I’m doing now, and I think we’ve done some good things – but it’s something I’m definitely thinking about.”
Byrne would be running against incumbent U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook), who shocked many political watchers with his special election win last year against Republican nominee former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.
Byrne told McCollum said that “a number of” Jones’ beliefs were out of the “mainstream of Alabama thinking,” which would be the basis of his opposition to Jones in 2020.
Byrne cited the “pain-capable abortion bill” that Jones opposed as an example.
“Doug took a strong stand pro-choice during the election, so whereas every Republican voted Aye on that law, Doug voted no and it failed in the Senate,” Byrne said according to McCollum’s report. “I’m not taking anything away from Doug personally when I say that. He’s just not in line with what I consider to be the mainstream of Alabama political thinking on some key issues.”
Shortly after the U.S. Senate special election in December, Byrne predicted a Jones loss in 2020 in an interview with National Public Radio.
“I just think this is one of those elections that will never be replicated again in my lifetime,” he said to NPR. “Doug Jones, who’s a friend of mine – I like him very much. Doug Jones will lose his seat in 2020.”
(Image: U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne — Jeff Poor/Yellowhammer News)
Jeff Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and works as the editor of Breitbart TV. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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