Former Republican state Rep. Perry Hooper told The New York Times that he is eyeing a run for Senate in the special election to replace Jeff Sessions next year.
In the article, Hooper said he was considering challenging sitting U.S. Sen. Luther Strange and that his campaign could center around the circumstances of the former Alabama Attorney General’s appointment to the seat.
After Sessions appointment as U.S. Attorney General, Gov. Robert Bentley selected Strange over Hooper and several other candidates to serve as in the senate until a special election for the remainder of Sessions’ term was set.
Bentley ended up setting the special election for June, 2018, giving Strange more than a year of incumbency before he would have to be confirmed for the job by Alabama voters.
The move was considered iffy by some, considering Strange’s office was handling an investigation into the scandal-plagued governor, though after his selection Strange said that speculation about inquiries on Bentley was “unfair to him and unfair to the process,” adding that “we have never said in our office that we are investigating the governor.”
Hooper isn’t the only candidate who interviewed for the job who is considering running for it outright.
Also this week, suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore announced through a spokesperson that he was considering a senate run, while also keeping his options open for a gubernatorial campaign or a run for Alabama Attorney General.
