Club for Growth is going to endorse former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville in Alabama’s U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff election, according to a report Monday from Politico.
“I think both of them can win, but I think if Trump is not fully on board it becomes harder. And he’s made it clear that Tuberville is his pick,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in an interview with the outlet.
Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has long been an ally of the Club for Growth, and the national conservative group even encouraged him to get into the race this past October.
According to McIntosh, the group has not yet decided on how much money their political arm is going to spend on getting Tuberville elected. However, in the Politico interview, he committed to making an investment in the race supporting the former Auburn coach.
The Club invested heavily in defeating U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) in the initial primary that concluded on March 3, spending upwards of $600,000 on negative ads. The congressman finished third, with Tuberville coming in first narrowly to Sessions.
The ultimate GOP nominee will go on to face U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) in November.
“Looking forward to the fall, we have to make sure that we win this general election and beat Doug Jones. Everyone is saying, ‘It’s so Republican, we should be able to do that.’ But if we’re split because Trump is on the other side and doesn’t really like Sessions, that could make it very hard,” added McIntosh in his Politico interview.
Polling done by the Club’s political arm last week showed Tuberville with a slight lead, but the survey also showed that lead would be expected to increase significantly after the endorsement by Trump.
The date of the runoff between Sessions and Tuberville is scheduled for March 31 but could be in flux due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
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