Trailing In Senate Race, Jeff Sessions Demands Debates, Tells Opponent ‘Stop Running Away’

TOPLINE

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked Senate challenger and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville to face him in five debates before the July runoff for the Republican nomination, accusing Tuberville of  “running away” as Sessions struggles with lagging poll numbers in an effort to win his old U.S. Senate seat back.

KEY FACTS

KEY BACKGROUND

Whoever comes out ahead in the July 14 runoff, which was rescheduled from March 31, will get to face Democratic incumbent Doug Jones in November. Jones is seen as the weakest Democratic Senate incumbent in the upcoming election, having only narrowly won the seat in a special election against then-Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was plagued by reports of sexual misconduct. The Republican nominee will also likely see a boost from having Trump on the ballot, after Trump in 2016 recorded the highest vote total of any presidential candidate in Alabama history.

CRITICAL QUOTE

“If coaching taught me anything, it’s that you don’t let the losing team dictate the game when you’re sitting on a lead,” Tuberville said in a statement.

TANGENT

Tuberville was fairly successful in his 10 years as the Auburn football coach, with his 85 wins the fourth-most among coaches in the program’s 127-year history, and posted a 7-3 record against the rival University of Alabama. Tuberville would leave the role in 2008, and go on to stints coaching at Texas Tech University and the University of Cincinnati. The 65-year-old last coached in 2016.

FURTHER READING

Will Sessions and Tuberville debate before Alabama Senate runoff? (AL.com)

Jeff Sessions wants 5 debates with Tommy Tuberville ahead of Alabama GOP Senate runoff (The Montgomery Advertiser)