Less than a week after the filing deadline for the special Senate election this year, the political action committee of the Alabama Farmers Federation endorsed appointed Sen. Luther Strange out of 19 candidates in the race. The primary election is Aug. 15, with a runoff on Sept. 26 if needed and the general election following on Dec. 12.
Elected as state attorney general in 2010, Strange was appointed senator on Feb. 9, succeeding Jeff Sessions, who is U.S. attorney general. A Republican, Strange is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. There are 11 Republicans and eight Democrats in the Senate race.
President Jimmy Parnell of the Alabama farm group said FarmPAC backed Strange because of his record as a defender of the state property tax system, including current-use classification for farm and forestland, and his opposition to EPA’s Waters of the United States rule, which was withdrawn by President Trump. The Alabama Farmers Federation says it is the largest farm group in the state with 357,000 members.