Byrne: We better pick a ‘vetted’ candidate as the GOP nominee — ‘We don’t need an October surprise’

PELL CITY — Could lightning strike twice, and Doug Jones win another term as U.S. Senator in Alabama? That was a possibility raised by U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) during a campaign stop in St. Clair County on Thursday.

Byrne suggested his primary opponents might not be adequately vetted for the general election in November, which could make Jones’ reelection possible.

The Republican U.S. representative from Alabama’s First Congressional District was apparently referring to the possibility of allegations like those leveled at former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore that in part derailed his 2017 U.S. Senate bid.

U.S. Senate Republican hopeful U.S. Rep. @BradleyByrne speaking to the St. Clair County GOP tonight #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/XOglsrO2Vh

— Jeff Poor (@jeff_poor) February 21, 2020

Byrne made his case at a gathering of the St. Clair Republican Party at the Pell City Steakhouse for defeating Jones and offered the U.S. Senator’s votes on Brett Kavanaugh’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination and President Donald Trump’s impeachment as reasons why.

“Doug voted against [Brett] Kavanaugh — one of the finest conservative jurors we’ve ever had put on the court — someone who was terribly treated in that confirmation process,” Byrne said. “And yes, two weeks ago he voted to convict President Trump. That person does not deserve to be United States Senator from the state of Alabama.”

“It’s time to get rid of Doug Jones,” he added. “It’s time to get rid of him.”

Byrne insisted by virtue of being a U.S. congressman, he is vetted daily and someone who would not be susceptible to an October surprise.

“We proved in 2017 that not just any Republican can beat Doug Jones,” he said. “We better pick the right person to be our Republican nominee. And it better be somebody who has been carefully vetted. When you do what I did, you get carefully vetted every day. We don’t need an October surprise — where all of a sudden something we didn’t know anything bad about our nominee pops up, and then you and I have got to deal with it. We’ve got to make sure you and I know who we’re nominating.”

“And it better be somebody who is a conservative Christian fighter — not just someone who talks about it — somebody who actually does it, like what I did for President Trump,” Byrne said, referring to participating in Republican House members “storming” of the U.S. House of Representatives Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) where the House Intelligence Committee was convening impeachment inquiry hearings under the direction of committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.