Alabama’s attorney general, Luther Strange, is throwing his hat into the ring to replace Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate.
On Tuesday, the Weekly Standard reported Strange plans to run in the anticipated special election for the seat occupied by Sessions, who is expected to take a role in the Trump administration next year.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is expected to make a temporary appointment to the seat before the special election. But Strange says he is not asking Bentley, who he has had a complicated relationship with, to appoint him. Rather, he will focus on running for the seat.
“I think this is the right thing for me to do,” Strange told the Standard.
Strange, 63, is expected to formally announce his decision to run in a statement next week.
Last week, President-elect Donald Trump tapped Sessions, known for his opposition to illegal immigration, to serve as attorney general. Sessions still has to be confirmed by the Senate.
The news of the Sessions appointment has set off a race among lower-level lawmakers in Alabama who would like to fill the seat. Reps. Robert Aderholt and Mo Brooks of Alabama have asked Bentley to consider tapping them for the temporary appointment before the special election. A slew of others in the state are also said to be interested.
Strange and Sessions go back more than two decades. The now-attorney general first started out in politics as a volunteer for Sessions’ state attorney general campaign in 1994.
Bentley is battling his own difficulties with state lawmakers. House Judiciary Committee members in Alabama suspended hearings on his impeachment this week amidst reports that Strange’s office has launched its own investigation into the governor’s private life.
