Alabama icon faces uncertain Senate race

Ex-AG Sessions seeks to reclaim his former seat

WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday he wants to reclaim his old Senate seat in Alabama, where he’s been a conservative icon and dominant votegetter since the 1990s.

But it’s already clear that President Donald Trump’s enmity toward him, along with an established field of competitors, means he’ll have to battle his way to the Republican nomination.

And early indications are that he may not have robust help from former GOP Senate colleagues.

“The people in Alabama will figure this out,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told The Associated Press on Thursday when asked if it’s a good idea for Sessions to run. “We do want to get that seat back, and I’m hopeful we will.”

Sessions, 72, announced his 2020 run on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which touted Sessions’ appearance as his first national television interview since he resigned from the Trump administration last November.

“If I return to the Senate, no senator … would be more effective advancing President Trump’s agenda than I would,” Sessions told Carlson.