Ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions faces runoff in bid to reclaim Alabama Senate seat

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville will meet in a March 31 runoff after they finished as the top two contenders in Tuesday's election for the GOP nomination for Sessions' old Alabama Senate seat. 

Tuberville secured 33.7 percent of the vote and Sessions, who previously held the seat for years before he joined President Trump's Cabinet in 2017, had 31.7 percent with 89 percent of precincts reporting.

The Alabama Senate contest was among the most watched Super Tuesday contests outside the Democratic presidential primaries.

The winner of the runoff later this month will advance to the fall election to challenge Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, widely viewed as his party's most vulnerable incumbent. 

During his tenure as Trump's attorney general, Sessions came under frequent fire from the president for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, but has continued aligning with the Trump agenda during his sSenate bid.