2020 election

Jeff Sessions Leads the Republican Pack in Contributions This Year Toward Senate Nomination Race


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Jeff Sessions has collected almost a half million dollars in contributions in 2020 as he campaigns to reclaim the U.S. Senate seat he held for two decades before resigning to become U.S. attorney general.

Reports filed Thursday with the Federal Elections Commission showed Sessions with net contributions of $446,866 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, far outdistancing six opponents in the March 3 Republican primary for the Senate.

Democrat Doug Jones, the incumbent who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination, led all candidates with contributions of $2.43 million during the first 43 days of this year.

Sessions reported net contributions of $877,457 since the campaign began last year. He has spent $1.10 million through Feb. 12 and reported a cash balance of $1.9 million. He entered the Senate race last year with $2.48 million left over from previous campaigns.

Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach, reported net contributions of $173,266 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, raising his total for the campaign to $1.5 million, in addition to a $1 million loan from himself last year. The campaign listed expenditures of $587,814 this year and $1.39 million overall, leaving $1.11 million in cash.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Fairhope reported net contributions of $119,896 so far this year and a total of $1.20 million for the election cycle. His total overall receipts since the election cycle began last year, including money left over from previous campaigns for the House of Representatives, amounted to $3.47 million. Byrne spent $741,701 during Jan. 1 through Feb. 12 and $1.89 million overall. He ended the reporting period with an account balance of $1.57 million.

Jones has collected $12.87 million and spent $8.56 million since the campaign began, including $546,910 in expenditures this year. He reported a campaign balance of $7.42 million on Jan. 12.

Widely considered the Senate’s most vulnerable Democrat facing re-election this year, Jones defeated twice-ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in a special election in December 2017. Sessions vacated the seat in early 2017 when President Donald Trump chose him to be attorney general. Trump fired Sessions from that job last November.

Among other Republicans on the March 3 primary ballot, Moore reported net contributions of $18,021 from Jan. 1 to Feb 12, raising his total for the campaign to $142,946. His net spending was $51,099 for the current reporting period and $131,909 for the election cycle. That left an account balance of $11,038 on Feb. 12.

State Rep. Arnold Mooney of Indian Springs showed net contributions of $125,915 and expenditures of $99,319 for early 2020. He listed net contributions of $915,404 and expenditures of $564,778 for the period since the campaign began last year. His cash balance was $350,626.

Haleyville businessman Stanley Adair has been almost entirely self-funded. He reported no contributions and operating expenses of $498 since the start of 2020. He has raised $283,398 and spent $283,760 since the campaign began last year and has a balance of $881.

The other GOP candidate, Ruth Page Nelson of Dothan, has reported no financial activity.