Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) won the endorsement of the Super PAC associated with the Tea Party Patriots for the upcoming Alabama Senate race this week, with the head of the organization telling Breitbart News Friday that the ObamaCare repeal debacle shows that it is “critically important” to send true conservatives to D.C.
“In light of what has happened in the Senate in the last week with ObamaCare repeal stalling or failing, it’s critically important that we elect more people who are going to go to Senate and keep their promises and champion the values that got them elected in the first place,” Jenny Beth Martin, Chair of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, told Breitbart News.
Brooks is running for the former senate seat of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a special election in December. Then-Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Sen. Luther Strange to the seat in February, but Bentley resigned in April and was replaced by Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey — who called a special election for the seat.
Brooks will face at least four other GOP candidates in the August 15 primary, including Strange, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, State Rep. Ed Henry, and the Christian Coalition’s Randy Brinson.
But Martin said her organization was impressed with past work they had done with Brooks, including his work to stop the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill.
“We had worked in 2013 stopping Gang of Eight, that’s when I got to know him. He helped us in that effort and he has proven over the years as we at Tea Party Patriots got to know him that he is a man of his word, he keeps his promises, and when he thinks it is necessary to vote differently, he is honest to us as to why,” she said.
Calling the endorsement a “very easy decision,” she noted that while there are a number of Republican candidates running to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat, the poll of supporters in Alabama resulted in a majority — not just a plurality — for Brooks.
Martin praised Brooks as a “fighter for our values: personal freedom, economic freedom, and a debt free future.” She added that the group is placing a particular focus in the race on ObamaCare repeal as well securing the southern border.
The endorsement of the nation’s largest Tea Party group will prove useful to Brooks, who has had to fend off attacks from sitting Sen. Luther Strange that Brooks is a latecomer to supporting Trump, having backed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the primaries — during which he attacked then-candidate Trump.
But Martin said that the Republican failure this week to repeal and replace ObamaCare highlights the importance of the race, as it gives voters a chance to send a much-needed principled conservative to Congress.
“We are making this endorsement as Congressman Brooks has stood for freedom, he’s stood with the House Freedom Caucus, and last night’s vote in the Senate showed us we need more people willing to fight,” she said. “The whole process shows we need more people to cast a vote, but also to champion what we want to accomplish and that’s what Mo Brooks would do.”
The Alabama Republican Party primary will take place on August 15, with the special election taking place on December 12.
Martin said the organization will be having people from around the country call voters in the state to tell voters in the state about Brooks, and also to get out the vote. She said they are also organizing a volunteer-based door-to-door effort in the run up to the primary.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.