Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Elections

State Sen. Jim McClendon accuses Tuberville of hiding from a debate

State Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, on Monday accused coach Tommy Tuberville of avoiding his GOP Senate primary opponent, former Sen. Jeff Sessions.

“Coach TUBBERVILLE is hiding from a face to face debate,” McClendon said on social media.

McClendon compared Tuberville’s strategy to that of Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden.

“Joe BIDEN is hiding from the public in his basement,” McClendon said. “Same game plan for both of these guys. WHY? They are AFRAID (and UNABLE?) to answer pertinent questions. I will not vote for either of them. We MUST have leaders that understand the issues.”

Biden is the presumed Democratic presidential nominee. He will face President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 general election.

McClendon told APR that Tuberville, “Does not know the issue. He doesn’t have a clue. He just wants to be a U.S. Senator.”

Sessions has challenged Tuberville to debates.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“Anyone who represents our state needs to demonstrate that they know Alabama and each of its 67 unique counties,” Sessions said in May. “You can’t represent Alabama’s interests unless you prove that you understand Alabama and the challenges we face. Given your TV ads boasting about how strong you are (while standing in a gym where other people are exercising), I’m sure you can find it within yourself to demonstrate that strength in a series of debates so that the people of Alabama can see for themselves.”

“Being a United States Senator is more than just casting the occasional vote,” Sessions stated. “Effective senators must be ready to debate Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and others on many issues and away from the safety of talking points scripted by Facebook’s chief open-borders lobbyist, who you’ve hired to help lead your Senate campaign.”

“And anyone representing Alabama needs to be fully vetted before they are trusted to represent Alabama Republicans in a race against Doug Jones,” Sessions continued. “I’ve been fully vetted, over and over again. The national Democratic Party tried to find “dirt” on me when I helped President Trump win the 2016 election, and again when he nominated me for Attorney General. They came up empty, because there’s nothing there.”

Tuberville is a former Auburn University head football coach. He was also the coach at the University of Mississippi, Texas Tech University and Cincinnati University, and the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami and at Texas A&M University.

Polls have shown Tuberville with a lead over Sessions.

Sessions and Tuberville are running against each other in the Republican primary runoff on July 14. The winner of the Republican nomination will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in the Nov. 3 general election. Sessions was Senator from 1997 to 2017, when he was confirmed as U.S. attorney general.

Brandon Moseley is a former reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter.

More from APR

Elections

Former Republican candidate Hampton Harris has endorsed Dick Brewbaker for the upcoming election runoff.

Elections

The runoff will be held on April 16 and the winner will have to face the victor of the Republican runoff.

Education

The institute is poised to have a significant influence over the direction of cybersecurity for the future.

Party politics

The party broke with its tradition of not backing candidates in primary elections.