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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Jeff Sessions' Senate run (all times local):
1:15 p.m.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he is running for Senate because he wants to finish work on immigration, trade and other issues that both he and President Donald Trump have championed.
In a telephone interview Thursday, Sessions reiterated his support for Trump. He is running for the Alabama Senate seat he held for 20 years but left to become Trump's first attorney general.
Trump has previously lashed out at Sessions over his recusal in the Russia investigation, but said Thursday that he would not campaign against Sessions.
Asked if he expects Trump's past criticisms to hurt him in the Alabama primary, Sessions replied that Trump supporters have also been his supporters over the years.
He said, "the President will have no more vigorous advocate" in the Senate if he's elected.
10:54 p.m.
President Donald Trump isn't committing to supporting his former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, or any other candidate, in the Alabama Senate seat.
He did say he won't campaign against Sessions.
Sessions spent more than a decade representing Alabama in the Senate before stepping down to serve as Trump's attorney general. He was an early endorser of Trump.
But the president soured on Sessions after he recused himself from an investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election.
Trump says, "We'll see how it all goes."
He adds that Sessions has "tough competition" in the Republican primary, noting the candidacy of former football coach Tommy Tuberville. U.S. Rep Bradley Byrne, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill and former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore are also vying for the nomination.
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