Sessions, Tuberville tied in Alabama runoff: poll

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville are tied, just weeks before they face off in a Senate Republican runoff in Alabama, according to a new poll. 

Sessions and Tuberville each received 45 percent support, according to a poll conducted by OnMessage Inc. and released by the Sessions campaign Tuesday, although 10 percent of respondents said they are undecided.  

The survey contrasts with a poll released by Cygnal earlier on Tuesday showing Tuberville leading Sessions by a dozen points, or 52 percent to 40 percent. 

Meanwhile, the Tuberville campaign shared an internal polling memo with The Hill that also shows Tuberville with a double-digit lead over Sessions. 

The internal poll, conducted by Moore Information group, shows Tuberville with an 11-point lead at 49 percent compared with Sessions at 38 percent. Twelve percent of respondents did not know who they would vote for. The poll surveyed 400 likely Republican primary runoff voters and was conducted between March 5 and 7 with a potential sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. 

Tuberville and Sessions will face off in a runoff March 31 after neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote in last week’s primary. 

The winner of the runoff election will face Sen. Doug Jones (D) in November. Jones, who was elected in a special election in 2017 after Sessions vacated the seat to become President Trump’s attorney general, is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent senators.

Sessions departed from the Department of Justice in 2018, after coming under attack from Trump after he had recused himself from the Russia investigation. 

Trump stayed out of the primary last week but he resumed his attacks on Sessions after the results were announced.

“This is what happens to someone who loyally gets appointed Attorney General of the United States & then doesn’t have the wisdom or courage to stare down & end the phony Russia Witch Hunt. Recuses himself on FIRST DAY in office, and the Mueller Scam begins!” Trump tweeted.

The OnMessage poll surveyed 800 likely Republican primary voters in Alabama between March 8 and 9. The margin of error is 3.46 percentage points. 

Updated at 5:35 p.m.