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Trump-backed Britt defeats Brooks in Alabama Republican Senate runoff

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt talks to supporters during her watch party, on May 24 in Montgomery, Ala.
Butch Dill
/
AP
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt talks to supporters during her watch party, on May 24 in Montgomery, Ala.

Katie Britt has secured the GOP nomination for an Alabama U.S. Senate seat, ousting U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in a runoff, according to a race call by The Associated Press.

In last month's primary, neither candidate got the majority of the vote required to win outright and avoid a runoff. Britt received 44.8% of the vote to Brooks' 29.1%.

Britt is a former head of the Business Council of Alabama and was an aide to Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who opted to retire, leaving the seat open.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Britt in the runoff. That came after he rescinded his endorsement of Brooks in March. Brooks at the time had been struggling in polls and Trump said it was because the congressman made comments about moving past the 2020 election.

Britt will face Democrat Will Boyd in the November general election. The seat is considered by forecasters to be safely Republican.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Ximena Bustillo
Ximena Bustillo is a multi-platform reporter at NPR covering politics out of the White House and Congress on air and in print.