Katie Britt and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala). Photos: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call and Sean Gardner/Getty Images
The race for the Republican nomination for Alabama's U.S. Senate seat is headed to a runoff between Katie Britt and Rep. Mo Brooks, the AP reported.
Why it matters: The contest for retiring Sen. Richard Shelby's open seat became one of the more prominent primary elections, after Brooks received — and then lost — President Trump's endorsement.
State of play: No candidate won more than 50% of Tuesday’s vote, leading to a runoff on June 21.
The backdrop: Brooks, Katie Britt and Mike Durant (whose experiences were chronicled in "Black Hawk Down") were all seen as front-runners in the ongoing race.
- Candidates Lillie Boddie, Karla M. Dupriest and Jake Schafer muddied the waters, per AP.
The big picture: A recent poll from the Alabama Daily News and Gray TV showed both Britt and Brooks on the rise in the Senate race.
- Britt is considered an establishment candidate, having served as chief of staff to Shelby, while Brooks is a staunch House Freedom Caucus member who pushed to overturn the 2020 election results.
- He fell out of favor with Trump after telling a rally "put that behind you" referring to the election and "look forward" to 2022, resulting in boos from the audience.