Alabama Senate candidate Mike Durant (R) now says “election integrity and the results of the 2020 election” are among his “highest priority issues” after previously dismissing the presidential election and potential fraud as not a top priority.
Durant, the former United States Army Special Operations aviator, is using the issue of election fraud to attack his GOP primary opponent Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) — suggesting that Brooks will not “fight on this issue.”
“Election integrity and the results of the 2020 election are the highest priority issues across the country right now as we confront rising inflation, sky-high gas prices, and our diminished standing across the world,” Durant said in a statement.
“We need strong Republicans who will fight on this issue, not weak-kneed Republicans who will waffle like Mo Brooks,” Durant continued. “We won’t move on and we won’t forget.”
The remarks come after Durant, on the campaign trail, has repeatedly dismissed the results of the election and election integrity as a priority in his bid for Senate.
CJ Pearson noted the flip-flop:
Durant’s true beliefs seem to become clearest when he is asked real questions about the 2020 election. Asked point blank if Trump won in 2020, Durant tried to deflect by laughing and telling a crowd in Huntsville, “We’re out of time.” In a word salad maze avoiding a direct answer, Durant concluded by claiming “it’s impossible to speculate on whether (Trump) did or didn’t win.” Maybe start with a forensic audit, Mr. Durant? [Emphasis added]
…
Asked in December if election integrity would be “a focus (for him) or more of a soundbite,” Durant responded by saying, “Well, if you’ll notice when I talked about what my priorities were, I didn’t list that.” [Emphasis added]
“The timing is right for us to focus on really important things,” Durant added. “Let’s focus on things that really matter.” [Emphasis added]
Since the 2020 election, Brooks has taken tremendous heat from the establishment media for his objections to the results where President Joe Biden swept with 306 electoral college votes.
Brooks was among the 147 House and Senate Republicans who objected to the certification of the election results. Likewise, Brooks delivered a speech on January 6 at former President Trump’s “Save America Rally,” just ahead of his objection to the results.
A month after the election, Brooks said, “I’m quite confident that if we only counted lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens, Donald Trump won the Electoral College, and we should not be counting illegal votes and putting in an illegitimate President of the United States.”
Brooks also blasted House and Senate Republicans who did not join his effort to object to the results, calling them the “Surrender Caucus.”
“I can either sit back and surrender and be a part of the surrender caucus, or I can fight for our country,” Brooks said.
Trump has endorsed Brooks in the race. The Republican primary in the Alabama Senate race is on May 24.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.