Bradley Byrne mulling 2020 senate bid against Doug Jones

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Bradley Byrne
[Photo Credit: U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne/Facebook]

Alabama 1st District U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne said he will be looking into pursuing a possible 2020 senate bid against newly elected Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones.

“I’m thinking about running for the U.S. Senate seat in 2020,” Byrne told The Hill last week. “I’ve made one initial drive around the state to talk to people. I feel like I need to make some more drives around the state to talk to some more people.”

“I feel like I’ve got plenty of time to make the decision, but I feel like I’ve had a lot of encouragement from people,” Byrne continued, adding that chances he’ll jump in are “greater than 50 percent.”

Jones beat out former Chief Justice Roy Moore in the December 2017 special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat previously occupied by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Since then he’s caused a few controversies within the Alabama Legislature; to the point that the Alabama State Senate passed a resolution condemning his January vote against legislation banning late term abortions.

“I like Doug Jones. He’s a personal friend of mine. He’s a terrific lawyer, but I don’t think he’s voting along with Alabama values. We need somebody who’s going to go win that election and then get in that position over there and represent Alabama,” Byrne continued in his interview with The Hill. “He’s a great guy. It has nothing to do about anything personal but I’ve watched his votes, and watched some of the things that he’s said, and I know that they are not in keeping with mainstream Alabama political thinking.”

Byrne himself is a conservative through and through. He was awarded the ACUF’s Award for Conservative Excellence based on his 92.15 percent conservative voting record and is currently leading an effort against a possible Baldwin County immigration site.