Alabama native announces candidacy as first Republican in Arizona’s race for U.S. Senate
Energy Executive Jim Lamon’s candidacy marks the first Republican to jump into the race to become Arizona’s next Senator in 2022. He is gearing up to restore the GOP’s Senate majority by defeating incumbent Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a Democrat and former NASA astronaut. Lamon jumps into the race with a background as the founder and CEO of Scottsdale-based firm DEPCOM Power. Launched in 2013, the company is responsible for the engineering, construction, and operation of one gigawatt (GW) of utility solar plants for companies stretching from Oregon to Mississippi to North Carolina. DEPCOM Power was situated at number five on the 2018 Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing private companies and, in December 2018, made the Top 20 Best Places to work in Phoenix list. Raised on a family farm in Alabama, Lamon recounted his early experiences growing up in the state, “Everybody has their responsibilities on a family farm, and I learned a lot about the importance of that kind of regimen,” he says. “My parents came from nothing. Dad grew up with no electricity or indoor plumbing. He then worked three jobs, getting a college education at night, with my mom right there by his side, working herself and raising two kids.” “Our home, as well as those of my aunts and uncles who lived nearby, were built by the families with love and help from all the cousins, uncles, and aunts. There’s a great photo of me at seven years old, up on the roof laying tiles. It’s things you learn early on a farm.” Lamon studied civil engineering and played college football at the University of Alabama under the direction of legendary Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Formally ranked by ESPN as America’s greatest college football coach, Coach Bryant’s influence and teachings continue to guide Lamon. Following his time in Alabama, Lamon served as an engineer airborne officer for the U.S. Army, including a deployment in pre-unification Germany. “Serving in Germany during the Cold War showed me that American freedom is so powerful, people would risk their lives to escape communism,” he shares in a campaign announcement video depicting scenes of the historic fall of the Berlin wall, a barrier between the communist East and free West. Lamon has touched on familiar Republican themes as he has publicly criticized the “political and media elites” who he expressed have “the power to divide us and distract us, to amplify the angry, the lies, and suppress the reasonable.” His official campaign website states, “It’s time to end ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ in Washington,” with Lamon using his considerable experience in the power industry to drive home a “power to the people” message in his campaign announcement video. Lamon’s campaign will be centered around putting America First, securing the Border, and streamlining the Federal Government.
Senate Leadership Fund: Mo Brooks ‘lies again’ about ‘100 percent’ support of Trump’s agenda
Mo Brooks is lying once again about his “100 percent” support for President Donald Trump, says the leading Senate Republican organization. Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is accusing the Huntsville Republican congressman and U.S. Senate candidate of once again “falsely” stating he voted “down the line” on bills supported by Trump. SLF offers a clip of Brooks telling WVNN radio July 21: “Out of 300 and something votes that we’ve cast so far this year in the House of Representatives, every single one of them that has involved a White House position, I have voted with the White House.” “I have concurred with the policy goals they have put forth,” Brooks continued. “The record is, the White House and I have agreed 100 percent of the time on the things that the White House has sought to achieve.” Not so, says SLF spokesperson Chris Pack. As proof, Pack offers research by the nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly’s Vote Watch, where Brooks is, in fact, among the bottom 10 Republican members of Congress with the lowest percentage of voting in line with Trump’s agenda. While the number is still somewhat high – it is far from the “100 percent” that Brooks claims. “Like a typical Washington politician,” Pack says. “Mo Brooks keeps saying things that are plainly untrue to hide his record of opposing Donald Trump as a candidate and as President.” SLF recently launched a website – MoBrooksMoLies.org — dedicated to fact checking Brooks as he faces a tough Senate campaign against sitting Sen. Luther Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. They are part of a 10-person field vying for the Republican nomination to serve the remaining term of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Last week, Roll Call reported on internal polling that puts Brooks third in what seems to be shaping up as a three-candidate race; Moore leads with 27 percent, Strange at 23 percent and Brooks at 21 percent. Alabama voters have until July 31 to register for the Aug. 15 Republican and Democratic special primaries. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Aug. 10. If there is no primary winner — with 50 percent plus one — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
Senate Leadership Fund launches new website, ‘Mo Brooks Mo Lies’
A leading Republican super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is producing a new website attacking Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks in the state’s Senate GOP primary race. The Senate Leadership Fund launched “Mo Brooks Mo Lies” blasting Brooks ahead of the midsummer primary to finish the term of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The site lists clips of Brooks speaking out about then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on TV and in print, featuring a February 2016 quote where the Huntsville Republican says to MSNBC: “I don’t think you can trust Donald Trump with anything he says. Now, why do I say that? It’s because of his track record.” Other quotes include Brooks’ refusal to support Trump: “I was just asked a little while ago if I was going to endorse Donald Trump after things unfold with Donald Trump having this so-called insurmountable lead. And I said, ‘No I’m not.’” Brooks is shown to question Trump voters, telling the Huntsville Times: “I mean, what are the American people thinking? You can see my frustration.” He also “mocks” Trumps proposed border wall, telling Adam Smith of The News Courier: “The only difference between Obama’s border policy and Trump’s amnesty policy is Trump wants to spend billions on a fruitless exercise.” Senate Leadership Fund is spending more than $2.5 million to support incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, the former Alabama Attorney General appointed to the seat in February by then-Gov. Robert Bentley. Brooks faces a slate of conservative Republicans, including Strange and former state Chief Justice Roy Moore in the crowded Aug. 15 primary to fill Sessions’ former Senate seat. A primary runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26; a general election is Dec. 12.
Email insights: Fact checking Mo Brooks in increasingly heated Senate slugfest
As the battle for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat rages, the most significant name in the race isn’t even on the ballot – President Donald Trump. A new email from the Senate Leadership Fund blasts congressman and Senate candidate Mo Brooks of having more than a whiff of desperation when he “pretends” to endorse Trump’s immigration policies, something which he previously ridiculed. “I think it is wonderful that what President Trump is doing on national level, that the incentive for illegal aliens to come across our border has subsided…” Brooks recently told FOX Business News “…we need that wall in place for the next Barack Obama-type Administration.” The facts simply don’t bear that out, says the email. According to SLF spokesperson Chris Pack: “Career congressman Mo Brooks is desperately trying to sell himself to Trump supporters by embracing the same Trump immigration policies that he viciously mocked just months ago. Sorry, Mo — that dog won’t hunt.” As proof, the email provides a laundry list of times Brooks mocked Trump’s border wall as “Economically Nonsense” and “A Fruitless Exercise,” offering a well-cited 2016 MSNBC video showing Brooks saying Trump “is not going to do what people think he’s going to do” on border security. “He says he wants to build this great big wall with a great big door and deport all these illegal aliens, costing taxpayers billions of dollars in deportation costs,” Brooks, a Ted Cruz supporter, told The News Courier in February 2016. “The only difference between Obama’s border policy and Trump’s amnesty policy is Trump wants to spend billions on a fruitless exercise.” The group is also behind the website MoBrooksMoLies.org. Senate Leadership Fund – which is spending more than $2.5 million to support incumbent Sen. Luther Strange — is the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, designed to help protect and expand a Republican majority in the United States Senate. The SLF cash influx, along with raising nearly $2.7 million so far in the race, has allowed Strange to dominate email inboxes and airwaves. In contrast, Brooks has about $1.3 million cash on hand heading into the Aug. 15 primary, mostly leftover from previous House races. While not officially endorsing anyone, Trump has emerged as the key figure in Alabama’s Senate primary. In a recent campaign ad, Strange boasted his conservative Christian values, proudly claiming he is a “Trump man.” As Roll Call notes: “All campaigns and outside groups are seeing the same poll numbers when it comes to GOP primary voters: Trump is the clearest path to their hearts.” It certainly explains the heated slugfest between Strange and Brooks over who had been (and currently) a bigger fan of the president – particularly since Alabama was (arguably) Trump’s No. 1 state in the 2016 election.
Luther Strange dominates fundraising in Senate race
U.S. Sen. Luther Strange is outpacing his competition in fundraising heading into the final stretch before the special Republican Primary election for his senate seat. Strange, who was appointed to the seat by former Gov. Robert Bentley in February, raised $1.85 million in the second quarter for a total of $2.7 million raised so far in the special election cycle. The former Alabama Attorney General has also been on the receiving end of substantial support from a super PAC associated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The second-quarter haul puts him far CD 5 Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, who reported $298,000 in fundraising over the past three months and had $1.3 million on hand July 1. The third major candidate running for the seat is former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, who pulled in $305,000 over the three-month span. The vast majority of that money came in from small-dollar donors who gave $100 or less. Despite the money lead, Strange will likely have to win three elections to keep his seat. A recent poll indicates a tight race among the top three candidates, with Moore leading the crowded Republican Primary field with 31 percent support among GOP voters. Strange followed with 23 percent and Brooks had 21 percent support. Gov. Kay Ivey scheduled the primary election for Aug. 15, and if no candidate passes 50 percent in the election, a runoff between the top-two vote-getters is slated for Sept. 28. Strange seems to be focusing on Brooks, and has put some of his campaign money to use on mailers blasting the congressman for not supporting Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential primary, and for his criticism of Trump after he secured the GOP nomination. The winner of the November general election will serve at least until January 2021, which is the rest of the term U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions won in the 2014 election cycle.
After delay, RNC finally gives OK to funding for Alabama special election
The Republican National Committee has approved funding for the Alabama special election, likely to support incumbent U.S. Sen. Luther Strange. As reported by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt, the long-delayed has recently become “a point of contention between Senate Republicans and the White House,” over Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ old seat. Much of the problem seems to rest with the convoluted campaign finance rules which Isenstadt describes as “weeks of closed-door talks, inflamed tensions between Senate GOP leaders and the administration and touched on a central issue: how the insurgent-minded Trump White House will approach party primaries.” The approval allows the National Republican Senatorial Committee to spend more than $350,000 on the race to benefit Strange, facing a crowded 10-person field for the Aug. 15 Republican primary, which includes U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. A primary runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12. Among those backing Strange are Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, through two McConnell-aligned groups — the NRSC and Senate Leadership Fund. For the past few weeks, McConnell has lobbied to get RNC to approve the cash infusion, but foot dragging so frustrated the majority leader that he appealed directly to former RNC chair and current White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. Strange also talked personally with President Donald Trump. Isenstadt writes that some close to McConnell thought the holdup could be due to bureaucratic disorganization — or the administration was intentionally staying out of the primary, giving a glimpse into how the White House might handle future political battles.
Early Donald Trump attacks could hurt Mo Brooks in U.S. Senate race
During the 2016 GOP presidential primary, Congressman Mo Brooks called then-candidate Donald Trump a “serial adulterer,” only offering tepid support for him in the general election. Brooks, now in the middle of a contentious Republican primary for the Alabama U.S. Senate seat once held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions – a key supporter of the president – could struggle because of those attacks on Trump, who won Alabama by nearly 30 points. In the past, Alabama Republicans have turned on GOP lawmakers they see as anti-Trump. Brooks, who is looking to defeat incumbent Sen. Luther Strange to serve the rest of Sessions’ term, could be called to task for his past comments on Trump. The Hill notes that Brooks’ remarks could hurt him in the race against Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, well-known for his high-profile religious liberty battles. But in an interview with The Hill, Brooks downplayed Trump attacks, saying they were to support for Sen. Ted Cruz’s unsuccessful presidential bid. “When I’m in combat, a political fight, I use all weapons at my disposal, as I’m sure all of the candidates do,” Brooks said. “Once the fight was over with, it was important for our nominee to win the election.” Brooks added: “I’m not going to rehash the arguments I used to try to persuade voters to vote for the candidate of my choice in the primary, Ted Cruz. I will say, right now, Donald Trump is a vastly superior choice to the alternative of Hillary Clinton.” However, that’s a significantly different tone than February 2016, when Brooks told MSNBC a day before the Super Tuesday primaries: “I think what you are going to see 12 to 18 months from now is that a lot of people who have supported Donald Trump, they are going to regret having done so.” “I don’t support people who support adultery, and I don’t trust people who are serial adulterers, as Donald Trump has been and bragged about in writing because I don’t think that is an honorable thing or trait in a person,” he added. Nevertheless, since Trump’s victory, Brooks has become an outspoken supporter. In a speech on the House floor a few weeks after the election, Brooks defended Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that he “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” “A circus of left-wing media pundits immediately pounced on President-elect Trump’s opinion in an effort to silence serious discussion of the noncitizen voter fraud problem,” Brooks said. This change of heart may not be enough to sway Alabama voters, who already sent a message to Republican U.S. Rep. Martha Roby. Roby had also called for Trump to step aside after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape where he makes lewd comments about grabbing women. Although Roby eventually won re-election, it was by only nine points – a much narrower margin than expected for her heavily-Republican district, which Trump won by 32 points.
