Former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks announced on Friday morning that he plans to challenge first-term state Rep. James Lomax in House District 20 – a decision met with immediate hostility from Lomax.
In a scathing press release, Lomax referred to Brooks as an “anti-Trump blogger” and an “opportunist who has spent over 40 years chasing public office for his own ego, not for the people of Alabama.”
Brooks was once one of Alabama’s most visible elected officials, thanks to his penchant for saying outlandish things and being a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. But as he chased higher office, running for U.S. Senate against now-Sen. Katie Britt, Brooks fell out of favor with Trump when he began to trail in the polls.
And then the two had a very public, very ugly breakup. Trump called Brooks “woke” and publicly revoked his endorsement. In response, Brooks has spent the last few years criticizing Trump and his policies in interviews and in op-eds he published on al.com.
Leading up to the 2024 election, Brooks was urging the Republican Party to nominate any other candidate.
“Donald Trump has proven himself to be dishonest, disloyal, incompetent, crude and a lot of other things that alienate so many independents and Republicans,” Brooks said. “Even a candidate who campaigns from his basement can beat him.”
Brooks’ decided anti-Trump stance will set up an interesting dynamic in a district in the Huntsville area. While HD20 still leans heavily Republican, it, like most of Huntsville, has been trending away from the far right of the party.
Brooks also performed quite well. In a statement sent to various news outlets, Brooks noted that he outperformed Britt in HD20 in 2022. That led, he said, to five elected officials encouraging him to run and raising at least $100,000 from individuals so he could compete with Lomax.
Should he win, it would be a return to the state house after 35 years for Brooks, who served as a state representative from 1982 to 1991. He then served as Madison County District Attorney.
Lomax took shots at Brooks’ entire career, calling him a “political grandstander” who “contributes to political gridlock.”
“From his embarrassing failures as a defeated District Attorney to his do-nothing stints in the Alabama House, Madison County Commission, and U.S. Congress, Brooks has proven time and again that he’s nothing more than an ineffective placeholder,” Lomax said. “He’s collected taxpayer-funded paychecks for longer than I’ve been alive all while achieving nothing for hardworking Alabamians.”
And he didn’t stop with Brooks’ career.
“Mo Brooks has spent his post-congressional career as a member of the liberal media, taking pot shots at conservatives while I’ve been working to improve the lives of the people of my district.” Lomax added. “I can see why he wants back in– we’re finally accomplishing meaningful results for the people of our state and he sees an opportunity to take credit after never accomplishing anything. Mo’s grievance-filled, victimhood style of politics is dated and stale. While he sits at home writing anti-Republican blog posts and daydreaming about the good old days; I’ll keep working to ensure the best days are yet to come.”
